


BatIM One Shots

by Circus_Craze



Series: Bendy and the Ink Machine Fics [1]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Abandonment, Angst, Betrayal, Cats, Fluff, Multi, One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-02-18 21:03:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 32,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13108482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Circus_Craze/pseuds/Circus_Craze
Summary: Short one-shots about Bendy and the Ink Machine.





	1. The Purrfect Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry comes back to the studio thirty years later at Joey's prompting to find that his friend wanted to show him his cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was inspired from a dream I had where Sammy had a cat. This can also be found on Tumblr under the same name. I hope you enjoy!

Henry was very confused to say the least. After thirty years of no contact, his friend randomly sent him a letter out of the blue, saying that he had something important to show him.

Henry wasn't sure what he expected. He had known Joey for awhile, and he had the tendency to be weird and make rash decisions. Knowing Joey, whatever he wanted Henry to see was going to be very messy. He walked into the studio with that expectation, and was surprised.  
    
Joey was waiting to greet Henry when he arrived. He had even dressed in nice clothes. The first thing Henry noticed about Joey's clothes was that they were covered in hair.

"Joey, what's going on?" Henry demanded. 

"Not much at the moment. Why?" Joey asked.

"Your clothes are covered in hair."

"I know."

"Why?"

Joey shuddered. "Shedding season."

"What?" Henry didn't have time for Joey's shenanigans. He sighed. "Joey, what did you want to show me?"

"Oh, right! Follow me." Joey led Henry downstairs to the second floor.

"When did this place get so big?"

"We did a lot of expanding and renovations. The place had to be absolutely perfect."

"Perfect? For what?"

"You'll see," Joey replied with a grin.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Henry sighed.

"What?"

"Nothing."

They finally reached their destination. They were going to Sammy's office. Henry didn't know why they were going there, but he didn't even bother to question Joey. 

"We need to be quiet," Joey whispered. He opened the door and walked inside, leaving Henry to follow. 

When he got inside, he was greeted with a surprising sight. Sammy was sitting in a chair with a cat on him. The cat was black, except for white around its paws. The cat was sleeping, and Sammy was sitting perfectly still, looking very content despite how uncomfortable his position must be.

"Look," Joey said proudly.

"You made me come all the way down here for a cat?"

"He's not just a cat," Sammy said defensively.

"That's right. He's black and white," Joey answered. 

"We named him Bendy."

"To be completely honest, when I drove down here, I was expecting a bit more."

Sammy sighed, looking unhappily at Henry. "You can hold him when he wakes up."

Henry lightened up at that, smiling. "Alright."

Sammy grimaced. "I can't feel my legs."

"Why don't you just move?"

Sammy looked like Henry had just suggested murder. "I can't do that. If I do, he'll hate me."

"I'll do it, then." Henry picked up the cat, and sat down. The cat started to purr and knead, finally laying on Henry's lap and going back to sleep. Henry was smiling, petting the cat happily. 

"What do you think?" Joey asked.

"Alright, maybe driving down here was worth it after all." 

"We're thinking about rescuing more cats."

"Really?"

"Yeah! Think about it, Henry. We'll be the only cartoon studio that has cats!"

"We can do even better than that," Sammy said. "What if we foster? We could use our cartoon to help find each cat a permanent, loving home."

"Good idea, Sammy. Just think about how much good we could do. Also, cats running around everywhere would be the best thing," Joey gushed.

Henry wasn't convinced, though. "Are you sure you're actually going to be able to let them get adopted?"

Joey scoffed. "Of course. Look, I won't even get attached."

Henry and Sammy exchanged a glance. "Suuureeee."

"You'll see. I'll prove you all wrong."

They were right, though. As the month went by, Joey completely cat-proofed the studio. He bought all kinds of toys and treats. He named every single cat he fostered, and bought them only the best food. He asked questions to make sure the people seeking to adopt a cat would be fit parents, and cried whenever it was time to give them to their new, loving owners.  
     
Joey's face would light up whenever people sent in letters about how their new cats were very happy in their new home. He would hang the letters up in his office. He dedicated a whole wall to it.  
    
He did have an original idea before all of this. He was going to build an ink machine to achieve his dream. However, he found a new, better calling when he rescued his first cat. 

He traded the ink machine for cat toys and scratching posts. He put the plans at the bottom of a drawer, to be forgotten by all. His idea was foolish. If he was going to build a machine, it would have to be for catnip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Constructive criticism is welcomed and appreciated. Ideas for future chapters are greatly appreciated and encouraged. Thank you again!


	2. You Left Me In A Heartbeat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey writes a song about how everyone abandoned him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was listening to the Bendy and the Ink Machine soundtrack, and got inspired to write this.

It was the first and only song he would ever write. He wasn't a musician by any means, but there were feelings that a simple drawing wouldn't express. So, after borrowing a bit of sheet music, he was all set.

At first, it was hard. He had no idea how simple notes could convey meaning. Luckily, Sammy loved music and was more than happy to teach him all about it. Maybe he should try to get to know his employees a little better, Joey thought to himself while listening to the musician go on about music.

Now, he was alone in his office where he wouldn't be interrupted. The sheets were layed out in front of him. He started the metronome and got to work. The notes came easily to him, telling the story that his words couldn't.

He finally finished then made his way to the band room. He wanted honest feedback on what he had written, and he got just that.

Norman and Sammy gave positive feedback, as well as some of the band members. They offered to record the song for him, which Joey happily accepted. He was surprised to see Norman and Sammy getting along, and was met with laughter. That showed how much he paid attention, they joked.

The song was finished in about a day. It was perfect. A somber melody, carrying the feeling of heartbreak and sadness. That was what he was going for, after all.

It was only fitting that the same song played years later. He had been abandoned by almost everyone, and all of his employees doubted him. They left him in a heartbeat.

That was why this had to work. His own creation tried to leave him, not wanting his gift of life. Anything would leave if given a chance, so he wouldn't let it anymore. After he did what he wanted, he and his creation would be together permanently for all eternity. He would never be alone again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Let me know if you have any other ideas for future chapter themes. Thank you again!


	3. Headstand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry jumps on Bendy's head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was watching Ink Hyaena’s Bendy and the Ink Machine video, “A Date With Death,” and it inspired me to write this. I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/cro-Sx5vymA

He was getting quite annoyed. He had been trying to get the human for awhile now, but always seemed to fall short. He had just lost him again, and it was getting on his nerves. Even with being super fast and able to sort of teleport, he still couldn't catch him.

"Hey! Yoo-hoo!! I'm over here!" His head whipped around to find the man standing by the couch. Just to spite him, he brought his axe down, crushing one of his cardboard cutouts.  
    
The demon growled. If that man wanted a fight, he would get one. He was going to catch him this time. There was nowhere for him to go. He lumbered over to the human, and then found that he couldn't move. Why couldn't he move? He looked down and found he was stuck.  
    
He growled angrily, looking up at Henry with rage in his eyes. He was still going to catch him. He kept swiping at him, reaching out. He came up empty each time, and the amused look on Henry's face made him even angrier.  
    
Finally, Henry sighed. "Okay, look. I know we've had our differences, but...." Bendy was still trying to grab him. He finally stopped when he saw Henry glaring at him.

"Are you done now?" He asked. Bendy growled in response. "You know what, fine. I'll just leave you here." He finally stopped trying to attack Henry, instead standing still and frowning. He didn't want the man to leave him there. 

"Thank you. Alright. If you'll let me, I'm going to help you. Your foot is stuck. I'm not even sure how it got stuck, but let me fix it." The man bent down. Bendy watched closely as he picked up his foot. He instinctively reached out and grabbed the man's shoulder in an attempt to steady himself. The man didn't seem to mind, instead just looking amused.

"Set it down. There you go. See? That wasn't so bad." He was unstuck. He could move again. He looked up to see the man standing on the back of the couch.  
    
Before he could even wonder what the man was doing, he jumped on Bendy's head and jumped up on part of the wall. Bendy reeled back, almost falling down. Henry burst out laughing, jumping again onto another part of the wall that was sticking out. He tried to jump onto a higher section, but fell.

"Shoot," he mumbled before turning to fearfully look at Bendy. The demon was still looking at him in confusion. He was trying to figure out why the man had jumped on his head. The confusion turned to rage as he chased after the man. Henry ran into the Little Miracles Station and slammed the door shut.  
    
Bendy whined. He wanted the man to come out so they could continue the chase. "No," Henry said, almost understanding his thoughts. "I'm not coming back out."

"Please?" The demon spoke, surprising both himself and Henry. His voice was deep, and it was hard to speak with all the ink in his throat. He didn't actually think he could.

"No. No way."

"I'll let you jump on my head."

The man looked up. "And?"

"I'll.... I'll give you a five minute head start."

Henry opened the door. "Deal. I am getting on top of this station."  
    
Getting on top of the station was harder than Henry had thought. He took him ten tries before he finally succeeded. Poor Bendy had a headache, and had fallen over. Henry couldn't help but laugh, until he realized something. How was he going to get down without Bendy killing him.  
    
His smile faded, and he grew quite afraid as Bendy stood up. He was stupid, and now he was going to die. There was no way he would be able to jump down and go in the station. He was trapped.  
    
Bendy limped over to him, looking up at him with a big grin. Henry was about to accept his demise until, instead of attacking, the demon just helped him down. "You helped me when I was stuck, so now I'm helping you," Bendy explained. He sat Henry on the ground and stepped back.

"You didn't have to do that. You could have finally caught me, but you didn't. Thank you, Bendy."  
    
Bendy smiled. "You're welcome." 

"Well, I better be going. I got to go return this to Alice. Do I still get my five minute head start?"

Bendy nodded, and then frowned. "Hey, Henry, can I come with you? Just for a little bit? I won't kill you. It just gets lonely here sometimes."  
    
Henry smiled at him. "I bet it does. Sure, you can come along." He paused for a moment. "I am really sorry about the cutouts, though."

"It's fine. Alice just likes to be mean."

"Well, you know what they say. She is quite the gal." Bendy and Henry chuckled, then smiled.

"Oh, by the way, I chose the demon route." Bendy didn't want to admit it, but he was starting to like Henry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Constructive criticism and ideas for future chapters are always welcomed and greatly appreciated. Thank you all again!


	4. Sunlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry helps everyone find a way to escape the studio, but for Sammy, the first step out is the hardest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was inspired by the lovely Phoena12 on Tumblr. Thank you for the prompt, and I hope you all enjoy!

The first thing that met his eyes when the door opened was the sunlight. It was so bright. He shrank away from it, the brightness seeming to burn his eyes and skin. He began to doubt that this was a good idea when a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"I don't think I can," he manages to get out. He can't see the looks the others are giving him, but he can almost feel them. He just wants to disappear, to run back into the studio and never leave again.

"It's okay, Sammy. Take your time." Henry said. They stepped to the side to let the others out, and the two could hear giggles and excited talking. 

"It's been awhile." Sammy said at last. "I haven't been out there in years. Besides, I wouldn't belong out there. I belong here. It might be better this way."

"If you stay behind, I know for a fact that Norman will as well."

That statement surprised him, but he knew that Henry was right. Norman was standing away from the door, his light dimmed as he looked blankly at the door. When the wind blew gently, he took a few steps backwards.

"If they're staying, then I am, too." The voice from behind surprised them both. Wally was standing there, mop still in his inked hand as he frowned. "I-it wouldn't be right to go by myself."

"I'd have to make trips back and forth everyday to check on you guys. You know I wouldn't just leave you be after all of this."

That statement from Henry was enough for Sammy. After a sigh, he gave a nod. "I'll go," he said at last. "You'll be there with me, right?"

"Of course. I'll be here for every step of the way." Henry answered.

"Okay." With a deep breath, he took Norman's hand in his gently. He turned back to Wally and offered his hand to the former janitor. 

Wally looked at the hand, and then at the mop he had been holding. The ink had worn out his mind, and cleaning was the only thing that made sense. The thought of leaving everything behind made his head hurt, but maybe it was the right thing to do. He let the mop fall to the ground with a clatter as he took Sammy's hand, the other going to clutch at his head in an attempt to stop it.

At last, the pain faded. He looked up at Sammy, and the small smile the musician gave him was enough to give him the determination to nod. The three walked into the sunlight together, hand in hand. What would happen next was uncertain, but they would be alright as long as they were together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! If you have any ideas or prompts for future chapters, please share them. I would love to hear them. Thank you again!


	5. Cartoons and Illusions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry realizes that everything in the studio isn't as it seems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank MsFaust for the lovely idea! They gave the amazing idea of if the studio was more cartoon like, and Henry was just unable to see it before an event happened. I also got bonus points if there are cartoon versions of the others.
> 
> I really enjoyed this idea, and I hope you do as well.

The footfalls filled the hall as the man ran as fast as he could. The demon followed, a grin on its face and its clawed hand outstretched. It clearly enjoyed their game. 

Henry was all too used the situation. It seemed everything in the workshop was against him, except for Boris. He knew that the wolf was waiting for him in the elevator. He just had to make it there. It was only just a little further up ahead.

He wasn't sure what happened. Maybe he tripped over something, or maybe just his own feet. All he knew was that one moment, he was running, and then the next, he was falling into the ink on the floor.

His body crashed loudly, and he felt the pain everywhere as the wind was knocked out of him. The ink covered his already darkened clothes, and got on his face and in his mouth. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder, helping him sit up as a voice spoke. "Are you alright? You fell pretty hard."

Henry coughed, getting the ink from his lungs as other voices spoke. "Hey, when do you want us to drop this on him?"

"We're not dropping that on him! Besides, we decided on the piano, remember? Not the organ!"

"We were going to use that, but we dropped it on Sammy, remember? I guess we could always just throw Edgar on him and call it a day."

"Hey!"

Henry looked up finally, and he gasped at what he saw. Bendy was sitting beside him, his gloved hand on the man's shoulder. "Henry? Are you okay?" He asked again.

"What's going on?" Henry asked, dragging himself away from the toon. "How are you so little?" 

Bendy just looked confused. "What do you mean? I've always been this little."

"No, you were bigger. Much bigger. You were limping, too."

"Oh, yeah. I lost my shoe a little bit ago. I just was having too much fun to stop the chase to go get it." His smile widened. "You are really fast! I don't think I ever would have caught you if you didn't fall."

"You wanted to kill me."

"W-what? Kill you? Why would we ever-" his face fell as he realized. "The illusion," he said at last. "That's why you were running so fast. You saw us as monsters."

"What illusion? I don't understand." Henry said. 

Bendy looked at him. "Well, when Joey brought us to life, he was using this spell. He wanted to change how people perceived things. He thought that if he could do that, he could make himself look like a God or something. I'm not exactly sure. He made us as we are right now, but everyone would see us as these scary monsters.

"It was confusing why people ran when they saw us, but we understood, and eventually, we found a way to fix it. All we had to do was pull cartoon pranks on people, and then they would see us the way we really were." 

Bendy frowned. "We're sorry for scaring you. That was my fault. I forgot that you saw us as monsters. I guess I thought this was just a really cool chase scene."

"It's alright. I'm just glad that you don't actually want to murder me." The man frowned. "If you guys are normal, then what happened to the other workers?"

"Oh, well, they're toons like us. We designed cute forms for all of them."

"What about Sammy and Norman, then?" Henry remembered the crazy man that was covered in ink, and then Norman, who had a projector for a head and was inky as well.

"Joey designed them. We got to design everyone else, though! Well, except for the set up crew."

"The set up crew?"

"Joey used to call them Searchers. He made them look scary, but we got to them just before the ink dried. We tried our best to fix them, but they don't look super great."

Everything sort of made sense. "Okay, so everyone is actually alright, then? No-one is dead?"

"No! They're just all yelling at Joey. We put him in time out."

"Time out?"

"It was Alice's idea. He just has to sit and listen to everyone yell at him until he apologizes and helps us reverse the spell."

"Sounds fitting to me."

"Yeah. It was a really good idea!" Bendy grinned, and then his eyes lit up. "Hey, since you're one of us now, you can create your own toon form! Everyone else has one. They aren't inky, though. Only Sammy and Norman are because of Joey. I can show you the reference sheets for everyone else so you can have an idea of what they look like."

Henry stood up and nodded, a smile appearing on his face as he let Bendy take his hand. "Does that mean Joey has a cartoon form, too?"

"Yep! Everyone was arguing over it, because they wanted to make him look bad for revenge. Eventually, we just let Norman do it. He seemed like he wasn't mad, and he did a great job."

"Norman as an artist. Who would have thought?" Henry chuckled.

"It was really cool. Come on! Let's go make you look awesome!" It seemed like coming back to the studio was actually a good idea after all, Henry thought with a smile. Especially if he would get to design a cartoon form for himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you all enjoyed!


	6. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Norman endlessly wanders the maze, alone and lost, until someone comes to save him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by Phoena12 on Tumblr. I hope you all enjoy!

Lost. It was all he could feel anymore. The pain was dull constant, eventually being pushed to the back of his broken mind. Instead, he just felt numb, empty, and lost. 

He knew that he was once someone. He used to have a name, family, and friends. He used to love someone, too, but all of that faded away in the static. It was silent except for that, and the endless maze wore away his mind until nothing remained. His feet were tired, and he wanted nothing more than to stop, but if he quit moving and sat down, he would never get up again. For that reason, he continued.

He was restless, never ceasing his movements. He would watch the endless replaying of the cartoon, and his life was centered around it. Sometimes, he could have sworn that he saw the characters from the cartoon, but he figured it was all in his head. It was easier to believe than to face the awful truth that he had killed so many.

He remembers that he felt loss, until one day, he didn't. He was wandering just like he always did, when someone stood in his path. A familiar face, and then, for the first time, he didn't feel numb, or in pain. He felt whole. He wasn't lost anymore. They had found him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who Norman sees at the end is up to you all to decide. I purposely left it to where it could be anyone at all. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!


	7. Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey finds himself distracted by the rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired again by the lovely Phoena12 on Tumblr. I hope you all enjoy!

The rain fell steadily, running down the window pane. Let it rain, he thought to himself. It didn't bother him. He tried to go back to his work, but couldn't concentrate. The rain pattered on the window, and it reminded him of a lot of things he didn't want to remember. He wondered if it was raining where Henry was, and if he even cared.

"Joey, are you even paying attention to anything I'm saying?" Grant asked, annoyance laced in his voice. Joey frowned, running his finger to trace the trailing drops sliding down the window. 

"The windows," he said finally. "We need to get rid of them."

"What?! We can't get rid of the windows! Look, we don't have the funds for that, and even if we did, the place would look weird."

"This is not a request, Cohen." Joey turned to look at the man in front of him. "I want them gone." He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward in the chair. "Is that going to be a problem?"

Grant swallowed hard. "No. I'll get someone to take care of it."

He nodded. "Good. I forgot to mention, but I have a great new idea I know you're going to love." He watched as Grant's face set into a grimace before he hid it.

"Of course. Well, I look forward to hearing about it later on, but I am rather busy with the windows right now, and you should be getting back to work if you want that animation finished on time." Grant quickly shuffled the papers he was carrying and turned to leave.

"Oh, and one more thing." Grant stopped and turned, not even bothering to hide the annoyed look on his face. "I believe you forget that I'm the one in charge here. Right now, your life is going pretty well, but that can always change. I would tread lightly if I were you."

The man backed away without a word and quickly left, shutting the door behind him. Joey slumped back in his chair and turned his attention to the rain, quietly watching as the storm passed.


	8. Power Of Thor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey gets a bit too enthused about a Thor comic book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank MsFaust for the wonderful prompts! I set this one in the same AU as "The Purrfect Surprise." I guess I'll be calling it "The Purrfect AU." Anyway, I'm sorry this took so long, and I hope you all enjoy! Thank you for reading!

The most stressful day was Joey's birthday. There were so many gifts that would go wrong if you bought them for him that the employees made a list. He always got carried away with his gifts. It became clear the next morning that another thing would have to be added on the list.

As soon as Wally unlocked the doors that morning, Joey's booming voice over the loudspeakers greeted them. "Right there! On the page! Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor!"

Immediately, Sammy groaned. "I regret buying him that comic book now. I regret it so much."

"How were you supposed to know that he would freak out over a comic book?" Wally asked, trying to offer comfort to his friend.

"Joey freaks out over everything," Grant said with a sigh. "I just hope that he didn't do anything stupid. Then again, knowing him, he probably did."

They walked into the studio and got a surprise. The cats Joey had adopted were all dressed up as Thor. Grant immediately groaned and picked one up. "What did he do to you?"

The cat only purred in response. Joey was still talking into the microphone dramatically, filling the room with his voice.

"I'll go shut him up," Shawn said, and went to Joey's office. A few minutes later, talking could be heard through the microphone before it was shut off.

All the employees seemed to sigh in relief. Their relief only grew when Henry arrived. "Hey guys! I got some people interested in adopting some of our cats this afternoon. What's going on here?"

"Joey got a little too obsessed with his comic book," Thomas explained.

"That explains the costumes. Hey, I have an idea. We need to take some pictures of the cats. If people see it, they might want to adopt. The cats look so adorable."

"That's a good idea! I'll go grab a camera," Norman said, disappearing to go get a camera.

Joey walked out, proclaiming his favorite quote again. "Right there! On the page! Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor!" He stopped when he saw Henry. "Oh, hi, Henry." 

He braced himself for Henry to yell at him, but instead Henry praised him. "Joey, you're a genius!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Just imagine all the attention the cats will get in their costumes! I'm certain a lot of them will get adopted!"

"They will!" Norman agreed, returning with the camera. He took many pictures of the cats. They were published in the newspaper, and eventually made it to the front page as people poured in to meet the cats.

They were greeted by Joey in a Thor costume of his own. To each guest, he would declare, "Right there! On the page! Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor!" 

The others were tired of hearing it, but it helped the cats find loving homes, and that made it all worth it. For the cats, they put on smiles and didn't mind Joey's excessive quotes and enthusiasm.


	9. Mr. Trigger-happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sammy, Norman, and Henry find themselves being chased by Bendy after Henry gets a little carried away with his gun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to once again thank MsFaust for the wonderful prompt! I hope you all enjoy!

Henry, Norman, and I were crammed in the Little Miracles station, pressed up against each other tightly as Bendy beat on the door outside. Norman's projector dug into my skin as he hid its light while Henry stood on my feet. It was certainly uncomfortable to say the least.

"This is awful," Henry said at last, his voice low. 

"Well, maybe if someone hadn't decided to be Mr. Trigger-happy, we wouldn't be in this mess." I replied. Norman whined uneasily.

"What did you want me to do when I saw that demon? Give it a hug?"

"I told you that shooting him wouldn't help. The gun is made of ink, and it doesn't hurt him."

"I panicked and made a mistake. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry as well. I should have stopped you." I frowned as Bendy persisted on trying to get in. Usually he would just give up. 

"Why isn't he leaving?" Henry asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"I don't know." I swallowed hard, and then spoke. "I'll go out and try to lead him away from here."

"What?! Sammy, you can't!" Norman whined in agreement, gripping me tightly. 

"He's not going to give up. What else are we going to do? It won't hold for long."

Suddenly, a voice spoke and surprised us all. "You guys are really something, you know that?"

"Bendy?" Henry asked. 

"Yep. The one and only."

"Why are you chasing us?"

"I always chase you."

"Yeah, but you usually leave when we hide."

"I know. I just wanted to give your shoe back. It fell off. I'll just cram it through the crack of the station. Is that fine?"

"Yeah, it's perfect." 

Bendy gave Henry his shoe before stepping back. "There you go. Oh, and one more thing, don't shoot me. It won't work, and it's honestly embarrassing."

"Oh. Sorry about that. It won't happen again."

"Alright. Well, I'll be seeing you later on. Goodbye." With a wave, Bendy left. We stepped out of the miracle station and Henry put on his shoe.

"Well, that was strange, but I'm glad to have my shoe back. Also, I know now not to be Mr. Trigger-happy around Bendy."

"Yeah." At that moment, a searcher arose from the ink. "Henry?" I asked.

"I'm definitely being Mr. Trigger-happy around these guys though," Henry said, and shot the searcher with perfect aim.

"You know, I'm glad you have that gun."

"So am I." Henry said with a smile. "Now, let's go get out of here."

"Sounds like a good plan," I said, and Norman nodded in agreement. Getting out of here would definitely be great.


	10. Healing Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice, Allison, and Susie join together to stop all the madness in the studio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank the amazing and lovely MsFaust for the idea! I hope you all enjoy!

They stood joined together in the room, bent over Joey's book. "We can fix everyone else and stop Joey, but in order to do that, we need three angels to join together in perfect harmony." Henry read. 

"Sounds like something Sammy would write," Allison said, glancing quickly over at where the musician lied. He had been injured trying to defend them from Bendy, and he wasn't doing very well. It seemed that the bleeding just wouldn't stop. He didn't even say anything at Allison's comment.

"There's only one angel," Susie said with a frown. 

"Not really. We were all joined together, remember? That technically means that there are three of us," Alice said. She looked up at the two women in front of her. "It's worth a shot."

"It is," Allison replied. "If you're okay with it, Susie."

"I'm fine with it. If this has a chance of saving everyone, then I want to take it." With that, the angel and her voice actresses joined hands, their eyes closed and voices rising in song together.

The change that took place was almost immediate. The ink in the room faded away, leaving a cleanliness in its wake. The ink that made up Sammy slowly dripped away. His pale flesh took its place, looking clear and healed. Immediately, he seemed to regain his strength.

Everywhere the melody went, the ink was swept away. Norman was turned human again, and so were the others. The melody slowly reached the demon. He cried out, attempting to get away, but he couldn't. He was separated, no longer the demon he once was. Joey hit the ground with a thud, and Bendy fell onto his feet, in his cartoon form once more again.

"Bendy, come here." Joey ordered.

Bendy took a step back, looking nervously at Joey. "Come here! I order you to come!"

At that moment, he turned and ran back into the room with the others. He hid by Sammy.

"Bendy? What's wrong?" Sammy asked. 

"It's Joey," he said. "He's in the hall."

"We'll take care of him. He won't be able to hurt anyone ever again," Henry promised. Norman nodded in agreement. They all would make sure that Joey would never hurt another soul for as long as they all lived.


	11. Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small drabble about Wally Franks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by wandering-keys on Tumblr. They run an amazing Wally Franks ask blog, and I advise you all to check it out. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Food. He remembered how he could smell it from everywhere he turned. It made his stomach burn from the hunger, twisting in knots and making him nauseous. He had no money for it, and he didn't want to beg, so he was prepared to just starve until a man found him.

He offered him a a position as a janitor at his studio. It wouldn't be much, but the money could buy him food and a place to live. It would get him off the streets, and away from his troubled past, so he eagerly agreed. 

The job was far from easy. With burst pipes and ink everywhere, he had to work hard for the money he was paid. The employees were weird, and his boss was even weirder. It wasn't the ideal job, but he had food, and that meant that it was good enough for him.


	12. Protectors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a spell goes haywire, the toons are brought to life. The employees have to step up and become their protectors, however, everything is put to the test when Henry shows up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by the lovely MsFaust. I apologize for the wait, and I hope you enjoy! Thank you again for the idea!

None of them could believe what happened. Joey brought the cartoon characters to life, but he tried to change them and morph them into something terrifying. It was only thanks to Norman and Sammy that he didn't. They were able to stop it from happening, but the question still remained on what they should do about the toons.

"We can't bring them outside of the studio. If we do, people will try to hurt them," Susie says, trying to comfort Alice, who realized the same thing.

"We can't let that happen." Wally says. 

"What if we protect them?" Norman suggests. 

"If we're going to do this, then it has to be a team effort. We can't do this by ourselves." Sammy says.

"I'm in." Susie speaks up. The other employees nod, looking serious. 

"Wait, Joey sent a letter before the spell went haywire. He said something about a....a Henry." 

The others looked concerned at Bendy's statement. "Henry isn't a threat though, right? He used to work here. He loved the characters," Susie tries to calm everyone down.

"He left, though. You've heard what Joey said about him," Allison speaks.

"All of that was false. Henry isn't like that." Sammy reassures everyone. "Either way, we have to protect them. Hopefully Henry won't freak out about the toons, but there's no way to know for certain."

"How long do you think the letter will take to reach him?" Allison asks, petting Boris's head. Thomas had found a bone earlier, and Boris was happily chewing on it, unaware of the anxiety that hung in the air around him.

"About three to four days. It could take longer if the mail is running behind." Grant answers.

"We have time to prepare, but not much time." Norman says. 

Bendy looks up at him worriedly. "Will everything be alright?" He asks in a small voice.

"Yes, everything will be fine." Sammy answers, and bends down to give him a hug.

"Promise?" Alice asks.

Susie nods. "We promise."

~~

By the time Henry showed up, everyone was on alert. Wally kept the place clean while watching for a car to pull up. When it did, he quickly warned the others. 

Sammy and Norman greeted him when he came in, and Grant was there as well. "Hey, Sammy. It's been a long time." Henry says with a smile. He gives Sammy a hug, noticing the man's tenseness.

"Is everything alright?" He asks. Everyone seems to be tense. Norman looks worried about something, and the man behind them looks grim.

"No, it isn't." Norman shifts uncomfortably. "We should probably go talk about this inside. It's a bit of a long story."

For the next half an hour, Norman, Sammy, and Grant filled Henry in on everything. Joey had tried to corrupt the toons to mold them into monsters, but he messed up when Sammy and Norman tried to stop him. The spell was casted on him, and he didn't make it. The toons did, though, and they were alive. 

Henry took a few minutes to process everything. A nice woman brought him some warm tea, and the room was silent until he spoke. "Sorry. This was just really hard to process." He said with a slight chuckle.

"We completely get it. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't laugh and call us crazy." The woman said. "My name is Susie, by the way. Susie Campbell."

"I'm Henry." He replied. "I might have, but Sammy and Norman looked serious, so I knew something was up." He paused. "C-can I see them? The toons?"

Susie nodded. "Of course! We were hoping you'd want to."

When Henry met the toons, he didn't react like the others were expecting him to. He just looked at them and slowly approached before bending down, opening his arms. Bendy knew exactly what that meant, and was the first to hug the man. Alice and Boris joined, and the man actually started crying.

He quickly assured them that they were tears of joy. "Never in my wildest dreams would I expect this. I'm so happy, though." He pulled away and wiped his eyes. "I'm so sorry about what Joey tried to do, though. I know he must have said awful things about me, but I can assure you, they weren't true at all. I'm nothing like him."

He looked at all of the people in the room. They looked so tired, and he remembered Sammy mentioning that they stated at the studio to protect the toons.

"I'm going to get you out of here."

"W-what?" Bendy asks, thinking he heard the man incorrectly.

"A studio is no place for anyone to live. I have a big house and it's just me. I would love some company. You'll be safe. I live out of town."

"You mean, we can leave?" Alice asked.

Henry nodded. "Only if you want to."

The three looked at each other and turned back to Henry, looking excited. "We would like that," Bendy spoke. "A lot." The employees all smiled in relief, looking at each other. Everything would be just fine.


	13. Dreams and Melodies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few drabbles I wrote for one word writing prompts. They were really short, but I was proud how they turned out, so I decided to bunch a few of them together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These were one word writing prompts that I did on Tumblr.

Melody

 

This was his last melody. He composed it in the hiding place only he knew, away from everyone, even the demon. The possibility to make another was destroyed. The demon had tried to kill him, and if he left the safety of his hide out, he knew that it would finish the job. His body was already broken, and would be so easy to just rip apart. The demon wouldn’t even have to strain.

So, he worked, composing the song. He only had a banjo to play, and he spent a long while tuning it. It was very old, but he couldn’t let the idea go. He had to let his song into the world, even if he would be the only one to hear it.

Finally, the banjo was ready. He smoothed out the paper filled with notes and sat it on his lap. He picked up his banjo and began to play. It was a lullaby to himself, one last one to carry himself away to whatever fate awaited him.

Outside the wall, the demon was confronting the man in the studio. It was an unfair fight. The human had only an axe, and he knew he was going to die. However, both stilled when they heard the lullaby being carried across the air.

The two looked at each other, their faces mirroring the look of surprise as a name tumbled out of their mouths. “Sammy.”

\--------------------

Dreaming

 

When Susie first got the roll, she swore she must have been dreaming. There was no way that she thought it would be possible to get the honor of voicing Alice Angel. It seemed that she did, and that she wasn’t dreaming.

For weeks, she practiced as much as she could for the part. She only got better with her voice acting and Sammy’s help. She was going to be a star.

Then, she got the horrible news. What had seemed too good to be true had turned out to be exactly that. Alice Angel was now going to be voiced by Miss Allison Pendle. She no longer had the part.

It was clear to Susie that she was no longer dreaming. Now, she was having a nightmare. One that she could never wake up from.

\--------------------

Watching

 

He was always stalking around, watching with eyes that saw everything. Sometimes they saw too much, like the last time, but that didn’t stop him. Without being able to hear or speak, his vision was all he had left.

He had been very bright. Almost too bright. He quickly pieced things together, and just when he had everything figured out, he was silenced. Turned into a monster and depositied on the lower levels to wander aimlessly in the ink.

He had forgotten all that he had seen, but his eyes were always watching. Waiting for something to enter his field of vision that didn’t belong. His last recorded words bound him to his fate. “I sees everything.” Indeed he did, and it ultimately led to his demise. The watcher saw all, even the gun that fired and ended his life.


	14. Lullaby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey has trouble sleeping, so Sammy sings him a lullaby. When Sammy finds himself unable to sleep, an unexpected person comes to his aid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this for a one word prompt on Tumblr, and I really liked how it came out. This can be a shipping story, or just a friendship story, so interoperate it however you would like. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

He found it hard to sleep most days. After being freed from the prison he made for himself, he was filled with the weight of guilt and regret. He knew that everyone was rightfully angry at him, and he was angry at himself as well. 

He had been weak, taking the deal that was presented to him without thinking it through. He had lost his mind, and the Joey that remained was not the same as before. Everyone knew it.

He was so much thinner, and even more timid. He flinched at every loud noise, and he didn’t talk for a long while afterward. Even then, his voice was quiet, and he barely said anything. He didn’t want his words to hurt anyone more than he already had.

He laid awake at night restlessly. It seemed that somehow, Sammy could sense what he was feeling. Maybe it was because he had once worshipped the demon he had been. He wasn’t sure, but he knew that Sammy knew stuff. That was why every night, Sammy would come into his room when he couldn’t sleep. He would sit on the chair left there and would sing quietly, not saying anything else besides that.

He did that for the others as well, and as a result, he barely got any sleep himself. Still, a word of complaint would never leave his lips. He would go from room to room, singing lullabies until everyone would fall asleep.

Then, it was his turn to be the one left awake. He had gotten sick, and lost his voice. Through the haze, he had nightmares of the studio. His sweaty hands gripped the sheets, and as hard as everyone tried, no-one could get through to comfort him.

That’s when Joey showed up, limping into the room after everyone else had left. He sat on the floor by Sammy’s bed, and for a long while, argued to himself. Finally, he began to softly hum a lullaby. He was certain it was stupid, but it had the result he wanted.

Sammy quit tossing and turning, mumbling and groaning to himself. He was still, deep sleep washing over him. He was peaceful, and Joey stayed in there all night, eventually falling asleep on the floor.

After that, it seemed his relationship with the others was less strained. They still were angry, and he understood completely. However, it seemed after that, Sammy finally talked to him. They didn’t talk about anything deep. They just had conversation about the weather, and then talked about food. Once, they even talked about music together.

Joey looked forward to their conversation. Things got relaxed between the two of them, and they often knew what the other was thinking without even having to say a word. When Henry woke up with the most horrible case of bedhead, Joey and Sammy would just exchange an amused glance and try not to chuckle.

When Susie ranted one time about how someone had spilled cereal all over the floor, they exchanged a glance and backed away quickly, fleeing the scene. They both thought it was crazy that their close friendship had started just from a lullaby.


	15. Tea and Ink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry stumbles upon a surprising sight with a certain prophet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by a funny conversation I had with my friend, the lovely lexipup13 on Tumblr. They also go by Regularpsycho13 and DemonPirate13. I hope you all enjoy this silly little story.

He wondered why it surprised him so much. After all he had seen and all that had happened, nothing should really come as a big surprise. Henry knew this, but he was still surprised at the sight that awaited behind the closed door.

Sammy was sitting at a table, other cutouts propped up against the chairs. Paper cups were placed in front of them, and Sammy had a teapot on the table, a teacup in front of him. 

Henry hoped the man hadn't noticed him, but that was thrown out the window when he spoke. "Oh, hello, Henry. Care to join us?" He stood up, motioning to the empty seat across from him. Henry was frozen. He just looked at the seat, and then up at Sammy. He turned around quickly and ran for it. 

"A simple no thanks would have been fine." Sammy mutters to himself. "It's okay, Henry! It's just ink- I mean, tea!" He waited, but got no response. "You know what, I'm making him come to this tea party."

He stood up and ran in the direction Henry went. He knew all to well where Henry was hiding and effortlessly drug him out of the miracle station and sat him down at the table.

"Would you like some ink?" Sammy asked.

"No, thank you. I have no clue where it even came from."

"Oh, it came from my arm. It always drips."

Henry turned green. He chucked the tea cup at the wall, shattering it as the ink flew out. He realized that may have been an awful idea when Sammy turned to him in surprise. They just sat and stared awkwardly at each other.

“…that was the good teacup….” Sammy spoke finally.

"There are good teacups?" Henry asked, looking at Sammy curiously.

"Not anymore.” They stated awkwardly at each other and Henry slowly got up, backing away. Sammy didn't move, instead just looking at him. Despite the mask having no eye holes, Henry could almost feel Sammy's disapproving gaze burning through him. 

Henry left quickly, looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was following him. Sammy scoffed and called out to him. “As if I would follow you, you teacup murderer.” Henry is both relieved and offended.

“At least it wasn’t your banjo” He instantly regretted it as Sammy jumped to his feet, knocking over the chair he had been sitting in.

"DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH MY BABY!”

“I already did.”

Sammy ran quickly, standing in front of Henry. "You’re dead to me.” He ran to his banjo and picked it up, cradling it. “What did that evil man do to you?” He began to cry. 

“Sammy, you need help. A LOT of help.” 

“Go to Hell, Henry.” Sammy continued to cradle his banjo and sung a lullaby to it

Henry was beyond confused, and then crossed his arms over his chest. “Go to heaven, Sammy.”

Sammy looked offended, and then turned his attention to his banjo, leaning in as if it was whispering something to him. “What’s that, Margaret? You wish to hit Henry? Sure. Who am I to deny you the opportunity?”

Henry started to run away. Sammy was faster and easily caught up to him, whacking him with Margaret before running away.

“This is what you get for messing with Margaret!! No wonder Bendy didn’t want you as a sacrifice. You’re the worst sheep ever. Come on, Margaret. Let’s go.”

Henry just stood there, completely dumbfounded. His head hurt, and he was angry. Sammy better hope he kept his precious Margaret close. If he didn't, then Henry would find her and get his revenge. He would make sure of it.


	16. His Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey's reality is a bit different than his employees,' so they decide to see what he's seeing, and how to snap him out of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by the amazing and wonderful MsFaust, who suggested that I write about if the game took place in either Joey's or Henry's mental world. Thank you so much for the idea, and I hope you enjoy!

Joey never acted normal. He was so crazy and weird that it was expected. His strange behavior became normal for him, so to say that he was acting weird was definitely something to be concerned about. 

The first one that got to work was Wally. He noticed there was a box fort in this room, with a haphazardly nailed sign on top that read "The Ink Machine" in Joey's messy writing. A trip into the break room showed that there were these boxes stacked on top of each other and items on each one. They had been stolen from each of their work stations.

Grant was the next one to come in. Wally explained what had happened and showed Grant. "I don't even believe this. What the heck is an ink machine any way, and why did he steal stuff from the work stations?"

Wally shrugged. "I don't know. It's odd though, even for him."

"Definitely." 

They soon found that those weren't the only things wrong. Thomas almost fell down through a trapdoor when he walked in for work, and Sammy found a giant Pentagram on the floor. They decided then that it would be smart to talk to Joey. 

"Mr. Drew, what are you doing?" Grant asked.

Joey turned and glared at him. "Blech, spiders. I never liked those things. Begone." 

"Excuse you?"

"Do you dare go against the ink demon?" Joey stood up and took off his shoe.

When Grant walked out of the office, the other employees were all waiting anxiously. "What happened?" Allison asked.

"He called me a spider and smacked me on the head with his shoe. He was going on about some ink demon or something. He's lost it. Someone is going to have to get Henry here. I'm done messing with him and his weirdness." Grant walked off.

"I'll give it a try. Sammy, you want to come?" Wally asked.

Sammy shrugged. "Why not?"

They went into the room and Joey looked up. "Oh, hello, my Prophet. You've even brought Boris along. What a pleasant surprise. I thought the angel would have taken him by now."

"Prophet?" Sammy asked.

"Did you just call me Boris?!"

"I didn't remember Boris being able to talk. Maybe he isn't as perfect as I thought. Oh well. He'll do as a sacrifice I guess."

"A sacrifice?"

"Of course, my prophet. After all, don't you want your humanity back?"

"What? No. I already have it."

"I'm glad to hear you have finally gotten used to the inky body I blessed you with."

"Can you explain what's going on?" Wally asked.

"Certainly, Boris. I built the ink machine and offered the items on the pedestals to appease the Gods and to get the machine working. I was able to merge with Bendy to cheat death. I turned Wally into Boris, and Susie and Allison are Alice. I turned Grant into Edgar, Shawn into Charley, and Thomas into Barley. Norman is the Projectionist, and Sammy is my prophet."

"You think you're Bendy?"

"Of course not. I know I am." Sammy and Wally exchanged a glance before leaving the office. They shared their findings with the others, and they all agreed that they should contact Henry. He knew how to deal with Joey and his weirdness.

Needless to say, Henry was already annoyed with Joey as soon as he entered. The others explained everything to him, and he went into Joey's office. No-one was sure exactly what went down, but Joey was back to his old self, and order was restored. Henry told them to contact him if anything like that ever happened again and went home. 

"I can't believe Henry snapped Joey out of it in less than thirty minutes." Wally said.

"I know." Grant sighed dreamily. "I really like that guy."

"Grant, are you alright?"

"Yeah, he's fine. We should probably leave him be." Sammy said. He and Wally left, and started laughing about their crazy day. Thank goodness they had Henry to stop Joey's crazy antics.


	17. Haunted Studio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “For some reason, I saw them as monsters out for my blood. Once I was able to see them as they really were, and they explained everything, we all had a good laugh about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by a prompt from magicalmonsterhero on Tumblr. Thank you so much, and I hope you enjoy!

Henry was beginning to suspect things weren’t as they seemed in the studio. His encounters with Bendy had all ended in a chase. They reminded him of silly cartoon chases, and maybe they could have been if he wasn’t being chased by a giant deformed demon.

Sammy’s speech was almost too rehearsed, and he seemed nervous, like he was having stage fright or something. The rope was too easy to break out of as well, almost like he was meant to free himself and run.

There was always another scare, and this one was unexpected. He went to get a switch when a poster in the wall was torn open. This deformed butcher gang member staggered out and fell flat on its face on the ground. Henry stepped back, pipe in hand as he waited.

The gang member didn’t rise right away. Instead, it just laid there. Henry reached his shoe out to poke it. Was it dead? He jerked his foot back when it moved slightly and did the unthinkable. It groaned.

“Worst gag ever,” it mumbled to itself. “Why did it have to be me? Why couldn’t it be Edgar? He has plenty of arms that could have caught him before he fell on his face.”

“Charley?” Henry asked in surprise. Was he going crazy and imagining things?

The creature raised its head. “Oh, hey Henry. How are things?”

“Not good. What about you? What were you doing in the wall?”

“Trying to spook you. I forgot about that drop. I’m doing alright. My face hurts and I’m tired, but I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”

“Spook me? Not kill me?”

Charley looked surprised. “Kill? No way! Kill with laughter maybe, but not actually kill. That’s cruel.”

Henry wanted to question him further, but Boris was waiting at the switch. He turned his part and the gate opened. He turned to Charley and scooped him up. “Come on. Let’s get going.”

They headed on where they ran into a deformed looking Alice angel. Henry was expecting a scare when the lights went off and the stagelight came on. He didn’t flinch at the scare, but Charley did, screaming out in a shrill voice and clinging to Henry.

“Ha!!! That gives me ten points! Take that, Bendy! I scared Henry better than you!” Alice exclaimed triumphantly.

“Uh….Alice? That wasn’t me.”

“What? Then who was it?” The lights came on and Alice saw Charley. “Oh. Charley?! Didn’t you come to rehearsals?”

“Yeah, but I forgot about all the scares.” Charley admitted.

“Okay, what’s going on here?” Henry demanded.

“Oh, we’re having this contest of scaring you! Joey wanted to turn the place into a haunted house. None of the others wanted to, so he left to go pursue his dream. We’ve been rehearsing this for a long time though, so Mister Grant let us do it for real. Luckily, you came so we could!” Alice explained.

Things started to make sense. “So you don’t want to kill me?”

“No, of course not! You didn’t think we wanted to, did you?” Henry almost felt bad for bringing it up at the horror in Alice’s voice.

“I didn’t know what to think. There were these creatures chasing after me.”

“We’d never hurt you! Come on, let’s go find the others and finish this up!”

Alice, Henry, and Charley found Edgar and Barley along the way, and they all went to find Bendy. They got a scare they weren’t expecting from Boris, and they finally found the demon.

He was the most terrifying of all, and knocked Henry down. The others watched as they got into this tickle fight, and then after Henry was able to beat the very ticklish demon, he could see them all for what they really were. They looked the way he and Joey had drawn them after all those years. They weren’t deformed anymore. Henry caught up and spent some time with them before they went to go see Grant.

“That haunted house sure was something, wasn’t it?” Grant asked. “I thought Drew was insane, but he did know how to make a scary haunted house.”

“He did. I was actually fearing for my life.”

“You were?” Grant’s voice was surprised and worried.

Henry nodded. “For some reason, I saw them as monsters out for my blood. Once I was able to see them as they really were, and they explained everything, we all had a good laugh about it.”

“It must be something with how Joey brought them to life. A lot of others said the same thing. You should have seen poor Sammy when he came back from vacation. The guy actually fainted.”

“It sounds like him.” Henry laughed. “So since Joey is gone, what’s going to happen to this place now?”

“Didn’t he tell you? He left it in your name. Believe it or not, he actually got all of our finances figured out. It’s yours with no strings attached. If you want it of course.”

“No, this was the letter I got.” Henry gave Grant his letter, and Grant shook his head.

“Joey. The moron got the letters mixed up. He was supposed to give you this one.” Henry got the letter and read it, understanding that the toons’ scary appearance was a spell that could be broken, and that the studio could be his.

“So, what do you say? Do you want it or not?” Grant asked.

“Of course I do.” Henry smiled. The toons grinned and cheered. “I couldn’t leave any of them, or any of you behind.”

“Does that mean you’ll stay?” Edgar asked.

Henry nodded. “Yes, I’m staying.”


	18. Angelic Ally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry meets Alice and learns that she's nothing like the other creatures in the studio. She's way too nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for MsFaust. A long time ago, they sent in a prompt of if 'Alice' was an ally instead of an enemy. After a long time, it is finally finished. I hope it was worth the wait, and I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Edit: I changed it to where the toons were not made from humans.

Henry almost instantly knew that something bad was going to happen as soon as the door shut and the lights went out. Everything was dark for a moment, then the TVs turned on one by one, showing Alice's face on them. The song started up, then, something happened. The TVs went back out again.

"I'm sorry about that. I have no idea why these things are programmed to do that. Hang on, let me just restore the power. Aha, there!"

The lights turned back on, and the door opened once more. He wasn't worried. He was just intrigued and confused. He recognized the voice, but he wanted to know who it belonged to. "Hello? Who are you?"

"Me? I'm Alice Angel. Who are you?" He saw no-one on the other side of the glass. The person he was talking to was hidden, but he could hear her.

"Henry." He said.

"Oh, that's a nice name! Do you know what it means?"

"Uh, no?"

"Me neither. I don't know what my name means. I was just wondering. Anyway, uh, what are you doing here? I mean, in this room particularly. No-one really ever comes in here."

"I'm looking for an exit to get out of this place. Do you know of any?"

She sounded excited. "Yeah, I do. At least, I believe so. There's a problem though. I don't really know you, so I'll have to see if you're um...."

"If I'm worthy?"

"Well, it could work, but that sounds too rude. I was going to say if you can be trusted."

"How are you going to find that out?" Henry knew he couldn't just tell her that he was trustworthy. She'd have to find out on her own somehow.

"That is a really good question. There are cameras around, so I guess I can watch you through those? If that's okay of course. I don't want to freak you out!"

He definitely wasn't expecting that. Most of the creatures here were evil, and having one so not evil was surprising. "I don't mind. Do what you need to."

"Thank you. There's a lift not that far from here. You can go to it, and by then I should be able to make a decision."

"Sounds good." Henry frowned, trying to see in through the glass. "Are you....hiding?"

"....maaybeee?"

He thought so. "Hey, you don't have to hide. You're safe. I won't hurt you. I'm not scary, I promise."

"Oh, I know. It isn't that. Um, I'm the scary one. I.....I don't look that good. I don't want to scare you."

"Alice, I've seen a lot of scary things in this place. I'm sure you're not one of them."

"I wish I wasn't, but I am. My face.... It's not right. Part of it is deformed. One side is fine, but the other isn't. I can't see out of one of my eyes, and my mouth is lacking skin. It's shaped in a grimace. My halo is half melted into my head, too. I'm an awful sight for sore eyes." The angel sounded almost heartbroken. "I don't want you to think differently of me because of it."

"I won't. I know you may not look the best. Trust me, I don't either, and the others outside of her look horrible as well. That doesn't mean you are horrible. Beauty on the outside is useless. It's what's on the inside that counts."

"That means that as long as my organs are beautiful that I'm alright?"

"No, I mean your-"

"I'm kidding. I know what you mean. You mean that a person's personality and the way they act is where true beauty is. That if you're a kind and good person, you're beautiful?"

Henry nodded. "Exactly."

"I understand. Alice was silent for a few moments before speaking again. "Okay, I'm going to come out now. I'm sorry if I scare you."

Henry heard movement from the other side of the glass and he set his face to be neutral. He made up his mind that he wasn't going to be afraid, no matter how Alice looked. She was his ally, someone he could trust in this treacherous place.

She slowly stood up, her one hand on the glass as she waited for Henry's reaction. She looked at the floor, probably too scared to look him in the eye. If anything, it made him even more sad for her.

She had dark inky hair that went past her shoulders. One eye was this hazel yellow color, and the other was almost an empty socket. It seemed that one part of her face was normal while the other was deformed. Part of her face was able to be expressive while the other was set in a grimace, the skin around her mouth on that side seemingly melted. She had two horns, and like she had said, her halo was part melted into her head.

"Just as I thought." Henry commented.

"Just as you thought what?" Alice asked, looking anxiously at him.

"You're just as sweet as the way you are on the cartoons."

"Maybe, but not the way I look. Children would cry if they saw me."

"There's no children here. It's just me, and Boris is around here somewhere. If there's a way to fix you, I promise we'll find it together. I'm not giving up on you."

Alice smiled. "Thank you, Henry."

"I better get going to the lift. Do you want to come?"

She shook her head. "It isn't safe. The demon and all of his minions will try to drag me back to the puddles. I know how to get back to my sanctuary, and I'll be able to talk to you from there."

"Okay. Just be careful."

Alice smiled. "Of course. You too." She smiled. She told him how to reach the lift before leaving, heading back to her sanctuary.

Henry watched her go and headed on. He came to two paths and chose the Angel path without hesitation. Immediately, he saw writing on the wall, and the way seemed pleasant, a lot better than the ink he could see in the demon route. He found a tape on the couch in the room and pushed it, hearing a familiar voice.

"Everything feels like it's coming apart." It was Susie's voice, and she sounded so broken. "When I walked into the recording booth today, Sammy was there with that....Allison. Apparently, I didn't get the memo. Alice Angel will now be voiced by Miss Allison Pendle. A part of me died when he said that. There's gotta be a way to fix this!"

Poor Susie. She sounded so heartbroken. He took comfort in knowing that she had moved on to bigger and better things. He wondered what she would think if he was able to tell her that Alice was alive. She would probably be ecstatic, her and Allison both. As soon as he escaped, he would try to get in touch with both of them, he decided.

He went down an inky catwalk where he was scared by a cutout, which turned out to be from Boris. He was thrilled to see his companion and to have the pipe. It could definitely come in handy, and it did just that when he had to fight that butcher gang member to pull the switch. Luckily, past the switch, they found the lift. Boris knew exactly what to do as he got in. Henry followed and closed the doors, waiting for Alice's voice.

"You made it!" She sounded relieved. "I was starting to worry a little. I forgot how long it took to get here. But, no matter! You're here now."

Henry couldn't help but smile at her cheerful tone. "We are."

"We?" Alice gasped. "Boris!!! It's so good to see him, and he looks just like the cartoon! I'm so happy." She was silent for a moment. "Oh! I almost forgot. I made a decision. You know, about if you were trustworthy or not?"

"Yeah?" Henry asked, wondering what her decision would be.

"You're the most trustworthy person I met! I want to help you escape. It should be easy to do. I just make the elevator take you to the surface level. Just be careful of that trapdoor by the real door. There's a button to close it, and then you can leave. You'll be able to be free with Boris on the surface. After everything, you deserve it."

Henry smiled, and then frowned. "What about you?"

"Me? What do you mean?"

"I'm not leaving without you. If I'm getting out, you're coming too."

"I can't. You know I can't. Not like this. Who will stop the demon if I'm not here? I'm trying to keep everyone safe from him. Besides, my form is too flawed and unstable. There's no way I'll be able to leave without touching some ink and being drug back. Then I'll be of no use to anyone."

"Well, that means I'll just have to help you stabilize your form and defeat the ink demon myself."

"R-really? It's going to be a tough job. Besides, there's a ticket out. You should take it."

"I will, when you can take it with me. You're my friend, Alice. That means I'm not leaving you behind. Now, what floor?" Henry's hand hovered over the buttons.

"Nine. I'm on level nine. You both can come visit my sanctuary. It's a bit of a mess, but I can make some tea." Henry chuckled as he pushed the button. A lot of things changed, but Alice was still Alice, no matter what.


	19. Quite The Gal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry finds an ally where he least expects one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An alternate version of "Angelic Ally" where Alice acts more like her in-game character. This is again for MsFaust. I'm working on other prompts for them, and I hope you all enjoy this one in the mean time!

Henry was unsure what to think of the woman that called herself Alice. She sure was something, and her entrance was terrifying. He thought she would be an enemy, but as it turned out, she was an ally. An over-eccentric ally.

She was a big help though. She could sense where enemies were and knew how to avoid them as well as the best method of fighting them. She knew exactly where the stuff she needed was too. She was able to look through all the cameras in the studio, as well as make stuff. She had given Henry a earpiece so she could talk to him without using the speakers.

"The ink demon is right up ahead. Go to the left. No, the other left. There. There's a miracle station right up ahead. Perfect."

Henry quickly went inside, the demon looking around sadly now that the man was gone. The station was silent aside from Henry's shaky breaths until she spoke.

"You know, I was never sure why Joey decided to install these stations around. It really works against him now. I can't even begin to describe how enjoyable the sound of the door slamming in the ink demon's face is."

"Do you think the ink demon is Joey?" Henry asked finally. The ink demon had wandered off and Alice instructed him on how to avoid enemies as he made his way back.

"No, the demon is definitely Bendy, and only Bendy. I don't know what happened to make him into this, but I know it's him."

"Then where is Joey in all of this mess?"

"I'm not sure. I'd put my money on him orchestrating all of this from inside the walls or somewhere safe."

"What about you? Who are you?"

"I told you already. I'm Alice Angel. Who did you think I was?"

Henry was silent for a moment. "I thought you were Susie, your voice actress. I heard the tape on the angel route and I thought...."

"Oh, I see. I don't blame you for thinking that, but it isn't true. I take comfort in knowing for a fact that both of my voice actresses are safe at home."

"How do you know that for sure?"

"Because I got them out of here myself. That's how the demon caught me. He made me this way, but it was worth it, and I can make myself perfect again."

"Hey Alice?" Henry asked after a moment.

"Yes?"

"I think you're perfect already."

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Alice laughed, but then her voice softened. "Thank you though. That was sweet."

"You're welcome."

Apparently, there was something about him Alice liked, because she came out of her sanctuary to save him a few times. This time though, he was certain he was going to meet his doom.

He had run into Bendy and needed to get something from behind him. The demon knew this and watched him like a cat, waiting for him to move so he could pounce. The miracle station was on the other side of the room and running was out of the option. Henry thought he was dead until an empty can of bacon soup conked Bendy on the head.

Both of them were startled and turned at the sound of Alice's voice. "Hey Bendy!!!" Alice threw another empty soup can at him, waving her arms.

Bendy was distracted and Henry tried to sneak around him like she signaled for him to do. He was certain she was crazy and the plan would fail, but her plan was working.

The ink demon let out a growl. "Yeah!!! Over here!!!" She shouted louder. "I'm standing on one of your cutouts! Now I'm dancing on it! What are you going to do?"

The demon just stopped to watch her, allowing Henry time to grab the item he needed and locate a little miracles station. He was safely inside as he watched, worrying about the angel.

She kept dancing and eventually got tired, the demon still just staring at her. At last, he sighed, muttered something about annoying sisters, and left through a portal in the wall. "I told you it would work Henry." Alice said. Henry still pulled her into the station with him instinctively, and turned to a scold her.

"Do you realize how dangerous that was? He could have pulled you back into the puddles."

"He didn't." Alice pointed out. "Besides, I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?"

"You weren't questioning me when I was leading you around those enemies. If I remember correctly, you also weren't questioning me when I fought that large searcher you were running away screaming from."

Henry didn't say anything, and neither did the ink demon who had come to grab his cutout before leaving again. "Ha!" Alice laughed triumphantly. "I got you. Admit it!"

"Okay, fine. You got me. Now what?"

"You and I will be going going to get ink hearts on level fourteen."

"No, I'm going. Not you." Henry's voice was firm.

"Why not?"

"Because you'll try to fight the Projectionist you keep bringing up."

"No way. I'll just run around the studio and let him chase me while you get the hearts."

"Somehow that's even worse. I suppose you have night vision eyes now?"

"What? Don't be silly Henry. I have night vision goggles, and you said there was a mining helmet in Boris's sanctuary."

Henry was left speechless yet again by her. He really needed to start keeping track of how many times she left him this way.

"You know, they always said you were quite a gal."

"Yeah?" Alice asked.

"Yep, and now I know they were right. You are quite the gal."

"And you are quite the character yourself, old man.”

Henry gasped. “Old man?! I'll show you old! I'll race you to your sanctuary!”

"Oh, you're on!" Alice laughed, and the two headed back to her sanctuary.


	20. The Inky Puddles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’d heard it described as “a buzzing, screaming well of voices.” But the voices he heard weren’t screaming at all. In fact, they were laughing merrily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a redo of a prompt submitted by magicalmonsterhero on Tumblr. I made a mistake with the original one and I wanted to do better. I hope you all enjoy and I have done it justice!

Grant had always feared the puddles. He knew he came from them. After all, they all must have, but he couldn't remember what it was like. He, like many of the other creatures, didn't want to go back. He did, though.

He'd heard it described as “a buzzing, screaming well of voices.” But the voices he heard weren’t screaming at all. In fact, they were laughing merrily. Laughing like someone had told them a good joke that made them laugh so hard their bellies hurt. Like they were watching a funny movie and not inside of an inky puddle.

He didn't know what was so funny until his thought was cast out, projected into the ink. Somehow, through all the laughter, his question was asked, and he received an answer.

"Our savior has come. He will defeat the ink demon. He will set us free." One voice spoke. The others repeated it, the words, reaching all over the void of the puddle.

"Does that mean we'll get to go home? All of us?" Grant asked, fearing the answer.

"Yes, we'll go home.".

"We'll go home," the voices repeated. Things grew silent as they all imagined their homes. Grant knew that his house might not exist anymore, but the thought wasn't hard to come to terms with. Anything would be better than staying here in the studio. He'd give anything to be free, and finding a new place to live would be a small price to pay.


	21. Rejected Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Susie gets an invitation to come back to the studio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a prompt that was given by the lovely MsFaust. The prompt was: "Feeling relief that she'd made the right decision in tearing up Joey's invitation to return, Susie let the sound of her husband's snores lull her back to sleep." I hope you all enjoy this!

It had been a long time since she had thought about the studio, and even longer since she had heard its name. The last time was when she was getting her new job and listed her old one. They called her previous employer, and while Joey was being way too childish to even comment about her, Grant wasn't and told the interviewer a lot of good things about her. They hired her after hearing that, and were probably going to anyway.

She had kept in contact with Sammy for a little. It seems the studio had gone even more downhill. Joey had more crazy ideas and people were leaving left and right. They were in bad debt, and a few of the interns had disappeared. She was glad she was away from all of that, and once the letters quit coming, she figured Sammy had moved on and she moved on as well.

She was surprised when she got a letter addressed to her by her maiden name. She figured it could have been Sammy, although he did know her new last name. She did tell him about her wedding. He was even the best man. Then, she read the front, and saw it wasn't from Sammy. The return address was the studio's, and the letter was from Joey.

She didn't open the letter right away. She had a lot to do. She was working on a sewing project, and later that day she and her husband had a parenting class. She was pregnant, and being prepared was important to both of them. She left the letter on the kitchen table that day, and all of the next.

It didn't stop it from staying out of her mind. She wondered what the letter was. Did Joey have something he wanted to say to her. Something rude like all the other things he said when she left? Was he going to apologize? She doubted it. Was it some kind of false claim she owed him money? She didn't know.

Eventually, she had time. Her husband was working late and after returning from her own job, she sat at the table and ate dinner. Afterwards, she opened the letter, expecting anything. Instead, what she got was bizarre by being pretty normal.

It started with an apology and an offer for her to get her old position back. She could take it from Allison, and if she met with him, they could discuss her pay. He listed a starting amount which was way higher than what it had been before. 

She read the letter a few times to make sure it was real. Joey was actually admitting he made mistakes and offering her money. It seemed too good to be true, and she figured it was.

Sammy had said he was in awful debt. He didn't have the money to back her wages. Besides, she had left on good terms with Allison. She realized it was Joey's fault and not the woman's. She didn't know Susie had the role and actually wanted to give it back, although Joey wouldn't allow it. She wouldn't do that to the poor woman. Not again. She was done with the fighting. She was done with Joey Drew.

With that, she tore the letter and threw it into the fire at her fireplace before working on her sewing project. It seemed a weight was lifted off her shoulders and she didn't think more of the invitation. Until that night, that is.

It was relatively quiet. Her husband was fast asleep beside her, and she turned off her lamp after she finished reading the novel she had bought from the bookstore when the invitation entered her mind again.

She did love Alice Angel dearly. She had so many ideas about her character. Things that would make her relatable to women and girls alike, and even to just anyone who was going through various things. She would be a character full of life, in touch with her vulnerable side while overcoming every obstacle thrown her way. Then all of that was ripped from her when Joey took the role away. 

At first she had been heartbroken. She thought nothing could heal the hurt she felt, but life had moved on. She met a wonderful man and had ended up getting married. Now, they had a child on the way, a baby girl she found out.

She easily remembered all of the horrible things about the studio. Things were never fair there. Everyone was unhappy and treated unfairly. There was so much drama, most of it caused by Joey. If she did take the job, she'd just be replaced again, and knowing Joey, he had something else in mind. He wouldn't just try to make up to her for no reason.

Then she thought of all the hazards. The place always flooded. The ink was dangerous, and the work environment was hardly ever properly cleaned. Wally did a good job and tried his best, but the poor man was swamped. There were germs, ink, and lots of stress. It would be a horrible place for her and her unborn child. 

She knew that things would be horrible if she went back things were great now. She couldn't be happier. She knew for a fact she would not be happy working at the studio. She had gotten away when she could and now she had a better, healthier, and a happier life. Feeling relief that she'd made the right decision in tearing up Joey's invitation to return, Susie let the sound of her husband's snores lull her back to sleep.


	22. Rough Edges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bendy has trouble with an imperfect draft of Alice, and finds that she isn't all she seems once he gets past the rough edges of her personality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another prompt sent in my MsFaust. This one was: "Unfortunately, it seems the previous draft of Alice did not react well to being abandoned. She has become obsessed with perfection, transforming into a monster like one of the previous Borises did. Additionally, she has come to loathe Bendy, despite his rescuing her from becoming a Searcher like most of the other failed drafts." 
> 
> In this universe, the toons are not made with humans and don't require any of that to be perfect. I hope you all enjoy!!

Bendy had his hands full. Being a perfected version of himself, he was instantly Joey's favorite and given a lot of responsibility. He witnessed what Joey had done to the imperfect drafts. It terrified and disgusted him so he was going against his creator to stop it. He managed to save most of the failed creations and he had to constantly make sure they were kept safe.

His job was easy when he could change into a bigger form. It made it easy to get his point across to most, including Joey. However, he couldn't stop him from continuing the experiments.

Some things turned out good by them. Joey had been able to make a perfect Boris after several times, and with two tries, Joey had been able to perfect Alice's design and make the darling Angel so many knew and loved a reality. Alice was accepted and loved by her two voice actresses. It was good for her, but it only added to Bendy's troubles when the other found out.

A lot of the failed drafts of the toons got along with their perfect versions, but it wasn't always guaranteed. Unfortunately, it seems the previous draft of Alice did not react well to being abandoned. She has become obsessed with perfection, transforming into a monster like one of the previous Borises did. Additionally, she has come to loathe Bendy, despite his rescuing her from becoming a Searcher like most of the other failed drafts.

She wanted nothing to do with him and claimed a part of the studio as her sanctuary, not allowing anyone in, and especially not him. She kept talking to anyone that would listen about being perfect, and beautiful again. She also had tried to kidnap some of the other imperfect toons, which resulted in Bendy having to go rescue them and have soup cans thrown at his head while 'Alice' yelled.

He knew how to restore her easily. The same power that made ink veins appear on the walls when he was in his big form could repair her skin. He did it to the others and for the most part, they were fine and still able to be told apart from the others. The only one that he didn't get to rescue was the one Boris, and he still had nightmares about how crazy that guy was. There was no way she would let him anywhere near her to do that.

The one Boris didn't either. He actually tried to fight him. Luckily though, Sammy stepped in and taught him to release his emotions through music. The guy was super friendly and calm now, but Bendy still stayed away from him. They tried to do the same with 'Alice,' but she ended up breaking Sammy's banjo in rage. He was sad about that and they gave up. Eventually, the demon did as well.

He was in Joey's office and talking to him about the upcoming episodes when he felt a tremble go down his spine and he jerked. This happened when his cutouts were being broken. He had a connection with them for an odd reason, and that was a reason why no-one broke them. Now, someone was, and after the third jerk, it was obvious to both himself and Joey that whoever was doing it was doing it on purpose.

"Alright, let's see who is breaking those." Bendy looked through the eyes of the cutout, and for a glimpse of 'Alice' as she brought the axe down right on the eyes of the cutout he was looking out of. He cried out instinctively and flinched, then jerked.

"I told you she was trouble." Joey remarked, guessing correctly who was breaking his cutouts. "You should have let me just-"

"Nope, I'm going to go talk to her. Don't do anything weird while I'm gone."

"Haven't you seen, Bendy? I am weird."

"Well pretend to be someone else." Bendy left, not even looking at Joey's expression as he went to find 'Alice.' It seemed that she was a bit upset that Bendy stopped showing up to try to convince her to let him help her and was trying to get his attention again. He found her easily.

"Did you have to hit it right in the eyes?" He asked, another tremble going through him as she broke another. 

"Yep." She looked at him with a smile. "How did it feel?"

"Honestly, it was scary. Anyway, what do you want? You have my attention now." Another tremble. "Gah, quit doing that."

"I asked you to quit trying to help me and you didn't." She brought the axe down on another cutout. How they had so many was beyond him, but she had managed to locate every single one, and an axe. Those two thoughts alone were scary, and when put together were even scarier.

"I quit, though. Why are you retaliating now?"

'Alice' shrugged. "Because I felt like it."

"You wanted me to help you, didn't you? You wanted me to plead and beg, and keep bending to help you until I broke. Deep down inside, you wanted someone to care."

She brought the axe down harder. "Shut up."

"No. You think no-one cares, but you're wrong. You know that, don't you?"

She stopped. "What do you mean wrong? No-one does care. They have her, so why would they want an imperfect one like me? No-one cares."

"Yes they do. The others care about you. Bo cares about you, she cares about you, and I do too."

"You. You care about me?"

"Yeah, of course I do. Why would I be trying so hard to help you if I didn't?"

She considered this. "Okay fine." She put down the axe.

"The others do too you know. I'm sure Susie and Allison would like to get to know you."

"Please. When I look like this? They want someone beautiful."

"You are beautiful. You are to me, and I can heal you."

"Really? How? With the power of love or something lame like that?"

Bendy laughed. "No. With ink." He turned into his demon form. "I am the ink demon after all." He carefully reached out, and this time 'Alice' let him heal her. Her skin was fine, but she was taller than the other Alice and more sassy.

She rushed to a mirror and smiled. "I-I'm perfect!!!"

Bendy nodded. "You've always been perfect in my opinion, but yes. Yes you are." He turned to leave when she hugged him.

"Thank you. You really didn't have to do this for me. Especially when I was rude before."

"You're welcome. We shouldn't become friends though. Then this will be one of those... What did you call them? 'One of those stories where the characters heal with the power of love or something lame like that.'"

'Alice' laughed. "I never thought those stories were lame honestly."

Bendy nodded. "Neither did I. Anyway, I better be going, but maybe I'll see you later?"

'Alice' smiled. "I'd like that. I would really like that."

"Then I'll see you later for sure." Bendy smiled and headed back, glad that he had repaired his friendship with 'Alice.' Maybe it was time he gave the one Boris a chance. He may actually be an agreeable character once you got to know him.


	23. The Studio's Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When a spell goes haywire, Bendy is brought to life and gets to meet all the people in the studio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is inspired by Blue Sapphire, who had the idea for Demon Bendy to meet the studio workers. This was fun to write and is chapter 4 spoiler free. I hope you all enjoy!

The spell didn't go right. This was a common occurrence. Joey could never figure out what he was doing wrong, but obviously he must have been doing something wrong. The spells never went right, but but this time, it certainly didn't. He tried to bring Bendy to life, and now he had, but it didn't turn out the way it was supposed to. No, Joey thought, not at all.

His creation towered over him, about eight feet tall. He was supposed to be the shortest, and now, he was even taller than Norman. His bowtie was crooked, and ink was covering his eyes. His hands were long, even clawed. As he stated at his creation, Joey did what any sane and brave person would have done in that situation. He screamed as loudly as he could.

Bendy jumped back in alarm, surprised and confused why his creator was screaming like that. He tried to talk, but somehow he had messed up and it came out all garbled, almost like a growl, which didn't help calm his creator at all. Maybe a hug would, he thought, and by the time the approaching footsteps reached the room, Bendy had his terrified creator in a tight hug and was purring happily.

"Joey, what's going o-on...?" Henry's voice trailed off as he stared at the giant demon. 

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING?!!!!" Wally demanded, eyes wide. Even Thomas was at a lost for words.

Bendy turned towards the people in surprise. Who did they think he was? "Bendy." He said simply, cuddling his creator before placing him gently on the floor. He watched in dismay as Joey laughed hysterically, took two steps, then fell over.

"Creator?" Bendy asked, concerned for his creator's wellbeing. "Father?" He reached for him, but someone quickly grabbed ahold of Joey.

"He's fine. Nothing to worry about! He just was too surprised!" Thomas said quickly. He and Wally carried Joey away, motioning for Henry to follow. Henry didn't, though. Bendy looked sad and worried. Despite his scary appearance, Henry couldn't just leave him there.

"B-Bendy?" Henry asked, stepping into the room. Bendy looked up, feeling like he knew this man somehow but not sure. "Do you know who I am?" Bendy shook his head with a frown, and Henry walked up to him. "I didn't think so. That's okay. Joey just didn't have the chance to explain everything to you. I'm Henry. I'm your creator too."

"I have two creators?" Henry nodded. "I have two fathers!!" Bendy was excited about this, and had no idea why Henry's face got all red. Was he going to fall over too?

He whined and Henry snapped out of it. "Sorry Bendy. I just....I was thinking. Anyway, want to have a tour of the studio? You'd like to see where your creators work, wouldn't you?"

Bendy nodded excitedly. "I would!!" Henry smiled and took his hand. They headed around the studio, and stopped as soon as Bendy saw posters of himself. Or what he should have looked like. "Father, look!" He pointed to the poster. "Is that me?" 

"Yeah, that's you!" Henry smiled. "Our little devil darling! Well, not so little now, but you're still a darling!" 

Bendy smiled. "That's Alice and Boris!!" He went further in the room. "There's Charley, Barley, and Edgar too!"

Henry laughed at Bendy's enthusiasm. He was so adorable. He knew Bendy would be excited when they got into his workspace, and he was. "This is my workspace. Right at this desk is where I draw you."

"Can I see you draw me?" Bendy asked. Henry of course agreed and he got to see Henry draw him and the others. He even drew him in his current form, which made him very happy.

Henry was just finishing up some drawings with Bendy watching intently when there was a voice. "Mr. Lamont?" Both Bendy and Henry turned at the sound. Henry stood up while Bendy remained seated, unsure what to do.

"Oh! Mr. Polk. What brings you down here?" Henry asked someone who Bendy couldn't see.

"I ran into Wally and he said a bunch of worrisome things. Apparently there's a demon in the studio." Bendy stood up and finally saw the man. He took a few steps back. "And it appears that it's true."

"Yeah. Bendy, this is Norman Polk, the projectionist. Norman, this is Bendy."

"Henry, you know that being by a demon is dangerous, right?"

"Bendy isn't dangerous. I was just showing him how I draw him. Just spend some time with him and you'll see how harmless he is. Actually, I have an idea. I'm sure he'd love to hear the band and see one of the shorts."

"There's a band?!!" Bendy asked. Henry chuckled and nodded. "Mr. Polk will show you. Now you be good for him, okay Bendy?"

"Yes father." 

"I'm going to go check on Joey and then I'll meet back up with you, alright?" 

Bendy nodded and went with Mr. Polk. "You're in a band?" Bendy asked him.

Norman shook his head. "No. I'm not in the band, but I do run the projection of the scene they're playing music for. My job is to do that and basically involves operating the projectors."

"Projectors sound cool. Can I see one?"

"Sure. That's where we're going right now."

"Father usually held my hand when we went." Bendy couldn't bring himself to ask Norman to hold his hand, but Norman did it anyway. 

"This is the band." The band was playing and when someone noticed Bendy, they stopped playing abruptly. The others were confused until they saw Bendy and quit playing as well. The room was silent until there was a voice.

"Why did you stop? You were doing so well that time."

"Mr. Lawrence? There's uh....a giant demon in the doorway."

"Don't talk about Norman that wa-ay. Uh, Polk....?"

"Yes, Lawrence?" Norman seemed totally unfazed by the fact that a giant demon was standing right beside him. Bendy on the other hand was worried.

"Do you not see that giant ink creature right next to you?!" 

Norman sighed. "You're making a great first impression." He rolled his eyes and turned to Bendy. "Bendy, this is Sammy Lawrence, the music director. Lawrence, this is the devil darling himself."

"He doesn't look like much of a darling to me."

"Don't judge a book by its cover, Lawrence. After all, didn't you write a song a few days ago about that? Anyway, I was showing Bendy the band. I think we should play him the very best. He is our main character."

"Alright, you heard him. Let's take this from the top." The band started to play again. Bendy thought it sounded wonderful but Sammy was shaking his head.

"Mr. Lawrence doesn't sound that nice." Bendy said with a frown as Sammy made them play it again.

"He's just grumpy today. Mainly because I get to show you around the music department instead of him. I wouldn't worry about it." Norman frowned when he saw that Bendy was indeed worrying about it. "Hey, why don't I show you one of the cartoons? You like the posters, so I'm sure you'd love that."

Bendy nodded enthusiastically. "Please? That would be great!!" Norman smiled and helped Bendy to his booth, where he showed him the cartoons. Bendy of course loved them, and when Henry finally met up with them, he, Norman, Wally, and Sammy were all watching cartoons together. 

"You all seem to be getting along nicely." Henry said with a smile. Bendy saw Joey was with him. 

"Yeah! This guy is great!!" Wally said. "He made Sammy quit yelling at me and invited me to watch cartoons with him. I'm telling you, if people don't realize how great he is, I'm-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're outta here. We get it." Sammy rolled his eyes. "Don't you have a job to do? Thomas is going to be mad when he hears that you're slacking."

"O-oh, right. I better go." Wally stood up. Bendy looked helplessly from his friend to the screen. He loved the cartoons, but he didn't want his friend to go so soon. He had to make a choice, and he did.

"I come too?" He asked.

"Uhhh, you'll have to ask your Dad er I mean your creator."

"Father, can I go with him?"

"Absolutely not." Joey answered.

"Of course. I don't see why not. Just listen to him and Mr. Conner, and be good. Got it?" Henry asked.

"Hey, I'm his creator too. Shouldn't I have a say in things?"

"You brought him to life with a spell gone wrong, Joey. I was the one who designed him. You just stole my credit."

While his fathers were arguing, he left with Wally, or as the man liked to call it, he got outta there. "You know, there's a place downstairs where they have plushies. Tons of plushies."

"Plushies?!" Bendy was already excited.

"Yep, and I'll tell ya something even better. There's plushies of you, Alice, and Boris."

"Really?"

Wally nodded. "I'll even let you in on a little secret. I know the guy who makes them, and he has these three special ones he's saving for something special. I'm sure he'd give them to you."

"Do you think so?"

"Oh, I'm sure I know so."

"Do you think he'll like me?"

"You got Sammy to like you, so I'm sure you could get anyone to like you. Especially Shawn."

"Shawn?" 

"Yes, Shawn Flynn. He's really awesome. Come on, let's go!" They went to heavenly toys. Bendy instantly noticed a fountain of ink and how amazing the giant plushies were. Wally looked at them with him and had a mischievous grin as he motioned for Bendy to wait right outside the door.

"Shawn?! Ya in there?"

"Of course I'm in here. Whaddya think, Franks? I do work here after all!" The voice laughed. "Whatcha doin' all the way down here?"

"Well uh, Joey's mad. He says one of your plushies are off model."

"He what now?!"

"Yeah, he's really mad about it. I have it with me. It's right out here."

"Well lemme see what he means by 'off model.'" Wally tried to keep a straight face as he led Shawn outside. "See? It's as off model as a plushie can get!"

"What the hell?" Shawn went up and Bendy, unsure what to do, waved. 

"Hi Mr. Flynn!!"

Shawn leaped backwards. "That thing is alive!!!"

Wally was laughing so hard he had to lean on Shawn to stop himself from falling over. "Yeah! Isn't he great? Bendy, this is Shawn. He's the guy that makes the plushies! Shawn, you already know who that is I hope."

"So you're telling me that's the real Bendy?"

Wally nodded. "Yep. He's just really off model. Joey and his failed rituals."

"You'd think that if he kept botchin' 'em that he'd stop eventually. If anythin' it just keeps him goin'"

"You're tellin' me! I'm the one stuck cleaning up after all of them! Still, I think this one was the best one yet. Anyway, I was telling Bendy about your special occasion plushies, and we wanted to know if this was a special enough occasion to have them."

"Hmm.... I suppose I can give them to the not so little devil. But he doesn't get Squeaky."

"Who's Squeaky?" Bendy asked.

"His latest plushie project," Wally answered. "He never even let me see it, so good luck."

"Oh, I'll show Squeaky to him. He just doesn't get to keep him. He's not finished just yet."

Wally gasped. "You're letting him see Squeaky and not me?"

"Sorry Franks. You know how Squeaky is."

"I don't know how Squeaky is because I've never seen him before!! I swear, if you don't let me see Squeaky, I'm-"

"Outta here?" Bendy asked.

"Exactly!! See you're getting it!"

"Oh no. Now you both can annoy Sammy together." Shawn laughed. "But seriously, scram so I can show Bendy Squeaky."

"Alright fine. I'm going."

"Don't!"

Wally turned to Bendy. "I'm not going far. Just by the ink fountain, okay? I'll wait for you there."

Bendy let him go, and Shawn opened a special drawer of his desk. He pulled out what appeared to be a plushie of himself. Only it was gold colored and squeaked a lot. Bendy knew now why it was named Squeaky.

"This is Squeaky." Shawn said proudly.

"He looks amazing!!" Bendy exclaimed. He looked at Squeaky, not wanting to touch him and risk getting him all inky. "Why won't you let Wally see him?"

"Because this is a gift for him. It squeaks a lot so he won't be able to lose him, and he's his favorite color. Also the gold makes him easier to find. You can hold him if you want to."

Bendy carefully held him and watched as Shawn got out the special plushies. They looked like the others, but the version of him had a tutu. Alice had on this really cute and colorful dress, and Boris had on a cute outfit too. 

"Here you go. I'm sure you'll like these." Shawn took Squeaky back and gave the three special plushies to him. Bendy held them and smiled. 

"Thank you Mr. Flynn!! I'll take good care of them!"

"I know you will. Do me a favor and keep Squeaky a secret, okay? I have to put some finishing touches on him."

Bendy nodded. "Of course."

He thanked Shawn and went back out to where Wally was. There was this other man with him, and both turned. "Bendy, this is Thomas. Thomas, this is Bendy."

"So you really were waiting for Bendy then. Well, I don't want to cut your time with him short but there's another burst pipe that I need your help with."

"Oh! Of course. Bendy, I gotta go. I'll see you again soon." Wally waved before leaving. Bendy went back to see Shawn, and the man helped him back to the music department. He saw these two women talking and went up to say hello.

"I-is that Bendy?" One of them asked, taking a step back.

"It must be. Sammy was right." The other woman smiled. "Hello Bendy. I'm Susie Campbell, and this is Allison Pendle."

"Hi." Allison waved.

"You both sound like Alice."

"Oh! Yeah, we're her voice actresses. We both help give her a voice of her own."

"Alice needs help getting a voice?"

Allison nodded. "The cartoons are mostly silent. We help the characters' voices get heard since they can't really talk themselves in the cartoons."

"Wow!! No wonder Alice can sing so great!"

The two women smiled at that. "Do you think Joey might be able to bring Alice to life?" Susie asked.

"If he can actually get a ritual right I'm sure he can." Allison answered.

"I hope so. She'd be thrilled to meet you both!"

"Maybe so. Either way, I'm glad you're a part of the family now Bendy. It's going to be a real treat having you around."

"Do you think so?" Bendy asked, surprised at how nice of a thing Susie said to him.

"We know so." Allison said with a smile. Bendy couldn't help smiling as well. He was already enjoying his new life at the studio.


	24. Soup For Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected visitor shows up at Boris's sanctuary to have soup with Boris and Henry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for Blue Sapphire, who had the idea of an ally Bendy who comes to visit Boris's safe house and eat soup with Henry and Boris. Thank you so much for the wonderful idea and I hope you all enjoy this!!

Henry had no idea what to think. He had seen the wolf strapped to the table with its chest ripped open and heart gone. Then, the can of soup rolled out and the same exact wolf stepped into the room. Now, he was following him to an unknown destination. 

Millions of things ran through his mind. What if the wolf betrayed him? What if he was leading him to his doom? Sure, he seemed friendly, but was he really? Henry had no clue. All he could do was follow and hope for the best. That's exactly what he did. Apparently it paid off because he was led into this place. It was a small safehouse of sorts, with a cot, hammock, stove, table, and more. Boris told him to get some rest, which he gladly did. The cot wasn't as comfy as his bed, but getting some much needed rest was wonderful.

He didn't know how long it had been, but he woke up to the smell of food. There was soup cooking on the stove. Bacon soup he figured, but it must be better cooked. He sat down at the table, his stomach growling. Boris gave him a bowl of soup, then placed another bowl at the table. Henry began to eat, and watched in confusion as Boris sat a third bowl down. That was odd. There was only two of them.

"Boris? Who is the third bowl for?" Henry asked out of curiosity.

"A friend," Boris signed back.

"Friend?"

Boris nodded but offered no other information as he sat down to wait, drumming his fingers on the table. Eventually, the door was opened and Henry heard footsteps.

Henry had no clue who this so called friend was, but he could hear they were panting. "Gah, sorry I'm late! The Butcher Gang wouldn't stop chasing me!"

Boris got up, leaving Henry seated at the table. Boris couldn't talk, so he only heard one side of the conversation and was left to fill in the missing parts. "Not really. I got scratched and hit with the pipe wrench a few times, but I'm fine. I've seen worse. This is nothing compared to that one encounter with the Projectionist. Good thing my limbs regrow, right?" The voice was silent. "I know you worry. Hey, I smell soup. I'm starving."

Henry had nowhere to run and could only watch as Boris walked in, followed by none other than Bendy himself. This version still had a bit of excess ink on his face, but it only covered his right side, and he was a lot smaller. Still, Henry freaked out when he saw him.

Unfortunately, Bendy freaked out too, and started to scream and jumped back, which caused Henry to shout. Boris stepped in to calm them both. "Henry, it's alright. This is Bendy. The real Bendy."

"So he's not that thing that keeps trying to kill me?" Henry demanded, looking suspiciously at the demon.

"W-what? No! I don't know what that thing is or why it looks like me a bit, but it tries to kill me when it sees me. It will actually leave everything else alone to come after me specifically. If it was me, why would I want to hurt myself? Besides, if I was that thing, I'd at least be able to protect myself better." Bendy said.

Henry believed him. "Sorry, but you looked like him with the ink on your left side."

"Oh, yeah. I try to wipe it." Bendy wiped the ink away, showing that he was missing an eye and had claw marks running down his face. "It just keeps coming back though. 

"What happened there?"

"A run in with that thing. I didn't get away in time and he got me. All my other wounds heal, but these didn't." Bendy absently traced the claw marks before he began to eat his soup. 

"It looks painful. Does it hurt?"

Bendy paused for a moment and glanced at Boris before nodding. "It does. It's just a dull ache, but it flares up when the demon is nearby. Which means I can avoid him better now." Boris gave Bendy a disapproving look. "Hey, I don't regret what I did. I thought I could help him."

"What did you do to get that?"

"I tried to help the music director."

"And almost died while doing it." Boris was not happy, and not about to let Bendy forget that part. "He almost died because Sammy tried to sacrifice him."

"He wanted to be free, like all of us. It wasn't his fault he believed the demon's lies. Besides, I got out."

"I ran into Sammy." Henry spoke up.

"Really? How was he?" Bendy asked.

"He was actually doing well." Henry lied, not wanting to break Bendy's heart. He hadn't liked Sammy, but now he definitely didn't. If he ever met the man again, he'd make him pay for hurting Bendy. 

"That's good to hear!" Henry watched as the ink covered Bendy's left side again. "This soup is as good as always Boris! Henry, you should have been here when we found other cans of food. Boris is the best cook in the world!"

"He is?" Henry asked. Boris tried to sign that he wasn't, but Bendy stopped him.

"Yep! You just wait. He's going to open a restaurant someday. A five star one! When we get out of this place." Bendy was cheerful, but his smile fell right off his face. "If we get out that is."

Henry wasn't one to make promises he might not be able to keep, but he couldn't stand seeing Bendy so sad. "Hey, we will get out of this place."

Bendy looked up at him. "Really?"

"Of course."

Bendy looked like he wanted to believe this but he just couldn't. "What about all of those things roaming around though? And that demon? We don't stand a chance."

"Alone we don't, but if we all work together, I'm sure we can make it out. I'm not giving up until we do."

"Well, I'm not either. I'm going to make sure Boris gets out and opens that restaurant if it's the last thing I do!!"

"I'll fight beside you as well." Boris signed. The three of them smiled at each other and continued to eat.

"Hey, did you know that Boris is also the best card player?" Bendy asked after they were finished.

"Oh? I was always told that I was the best," Henry said. His smile only widened at Bendy's gasp. 

"Hear that, Bo? He's challenging you I think!!!"

Boris looked at Henry. "You're on!" It looked like a competition was brewing. Bendy started to laugh and got out the cards.


	25. Guardian Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the moment Bendy was created, the studio had been empty. Joey tells one story, while the tapes left around tell a different story. When Joey wants to bring everyone back for one final show, Bendy is left to decide for himself if that's a good idea or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a prompt given by MsFaust. "As he reached out and turned off the lamp, Bendy smiled. The knowledge that the people who once worked in the studio were safe and sound, and most likely asleep in their own beds, gave him no small amount of comfort. They have no idea what could have become of them, he thought." Thank you for the prompt, and I hope you all enjoy!

From the moment he was created, Bendy had known nothing but the empty studio. The only one there to welcome his existence was a man and the cold, colorless walls of the studio. He was shivering, from both the cold and the fear as he drug himself out of the puddle on the floor. There were no comforting words that were said or excited cheering. There wasn't even any hands to help him out. Instead, there was just a man who sat there.He shook his head and muttered two words. "Not perfect." 

The empty walls were witnesses to a lot of things he did. His first steps were taken by holding onto the walls instead of the hands of the people who loved him. The man was always busy, and when he could finally walk, he was allowed to help him by fetching books on the top shelf. That's when he began to tell about the reason why the studio was empty.

They were all awful people, he said. Traitors. They left them both all alone. Even the one who had come up with the concept of him left. They left because they just didn't care. There was no room in their hearts for an imperfect devil or for a man with a dream.

The tapes told a different story. They told about employees who gave all they could to this place, but it was never enough. Finally, they had nothing else to give and had to leave. Joey had driven them away, and he knew why. Because his pretend smiles faded and his real personality showed up. 

Bendy no longer listened to Joey's stories. When he didn't have to help him, he explored the area and pretended to be the people on the tapes. One day he was Sammy, writing music and playing the piano. The next, he was the projectionist, sitting in the booth and turning on and off the projector. Then, he was in the band. That was the most fun. Even though he had no true how to play the instruments. 

He tried voice acting. He made silly scripts and said them in various voices. He spent the most time drawing though. He'd draw and listen to his creator's tape while doing so. He drew a picture of himself, holding it up. "I've got a new character I know people are going to love."

It was true, too. People did love him. They gave everything to the cartoon. To him. He could feel it, deep under the anger and annoyance on those tapes. What they hadn't loved was the unfairness. Bendy knew this, and didn't blame any of them for one second. He wanted to give back to the people who had given so much to him.

He kept the tapes together in a bag. He kept them close, hiding them when he had to help Joey. He never thought he'd have the chance to meet or give back to them, but then Joey began talking about a plan. A plan to call them back for one last grand show. A finale.

Joey said it would be great. He said that they would finally see how great Bendy was, and they would finally make him perfect. Bendy didn't believe it, though. Not one bit. He knew Joey wasn't someone to do nice things for free. He took a look into it one night while Joey was sleeping and was glad he did. 

Joey had written letters to every employee to come back. He had books of spells ready to change them into awful creatures. He was even going to make his creator come back and merge with him so he could be perfect. 

Bendy was outraged. He spent the night tearing up every single one of those bad books and letters. He kept their addresses, but tore the notes inside. The next day, he was waiting for Joey.

"Time to go." He said.

"Bendy, what are you talking about?! Let me through!" Joey demanded. Bendy blocked his way.

"I saw your letters and the books. You were going to hurt these people! I'm not going to let you!"

"Why not? Don't you get it? They don't love you!"

"No, they don't love you. You were unfair and mean! They just wanted to be happy. You didn't let them be happy, so they went somewhere they could. I want to be happy too, so it's time to leave." He picked up Joey and plopped him down on the outside steps.

"You wouldn't do this to me! I gave you life!!"

"You can have it back!!" Bendy pulled a glob of ink and threw it at Joey before slamming and locking the doors. The keys were hanging in Joey's office. He wouldn't be able to get back in.

Bendy ignored the knocking and walked around the now empty studio. It was lonely, but he knew he made the right decision. Still, he decided to write one letter. A thank you letter to the person he admired the most. His true creator.

It took a bit to form the right words. He finished the letter by lamplight and in the darkness of the light, he put it in the mailbox before going back inside. The studio was silent aside from the creaking of the floor as he walked inside. The quiet felt comforting tonight, almost like a silent embrace from all of the people who he heard on the tapes. 

As he reached out and turned off the lamp, Bendy smiled. The knowledge that the people who once worked in the studio were safe and sound, and most likely asleep in their own beds, gave him no small amount of comfort. They have no idea what could have become of them, he thought. 

The only person who would ever know would be Joey, and maybe his creator if he decided to come back. Tomorrow he would start redecorating in case. For now, it was time for bed. The sun and all of the people who used to work here were sleeping, and it was time he joined them. With the bag of tapes by his side, he got into bed. Curled around them, he fell asleep.


	26. Guardian Demon Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry is surprised to get a letter from the studio, and is even more surprised to find it was from his own creation, Bendy. After reading it, Henry goes to visit the lonely demon in the empty studio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part two to the first "Guardian Demon." I hope you all enjoy it!!

It had been a long time since he had stepped foot in the studio. Since he and Joey had a fallout thirty years ago, he kept the place out of his mind. He learned all the others had finally had enough like him. Even the most loyal were gone. He thought it was for the best that he had gotten out when he did. 

He was surprised to receive a letter from the studio. He thought about throwing it away instantly, but something made him hesitate over the trash can. Instead, he sat down and opened it up. 

“Dear Henry,

“Hello. I don't know that much about you, and you probably know even less about me, but I know that you're my creator. My true creator. Not the one Joey claimed to be and lied about. I heard your tape. You created me and you knew people would love me. They did, too. I can feel it from their tapes. They keep me company in the empty studio.

“Joey had a plan of bringing you all back here. He was going to do a lot of bad things. I got rid of him though. Now I'm alone, but everyone is alright. I'm happy about that. It makes the air less lonely now I know that all the people who gave so much to me are safe.

“I only wrote one letter, and that's to you. I wanted to thank you for creating me and for all the love you gave. I don't think I'll ever be able to pay it back, but I at least hope you know I love you back. 

“This is all I'm writing for. If you ever want to come back, I'll be happy to see you. If not, that's okay. I just hope you get this letter. I love you, creator.

Love, Bendy.”

Henry read the letter a few times. He knew this must be Bendy. Everyone else was gone, and the writing was different from Joey's on the cover. He must have used the envelope Joey was planning on sending the letters to call everyone back with. He made up his mind to go. He couldn't just leave his creation in the empty studio with only tapes. There was probably nothing to eat there, and he would need someone to take care of him. It made his chest ache to think of what may of happened if he never wrote this letter to him.

He headed to the studio right away. The morning was beautiful as he knocked on the studio door. He heard movement from inside before the door opened. He stepped inside, not seeing any sign of his creation. Not until the door shut behind him and he got pulled into a tight hug. “Creator!!!”

Bendy was much taller than he expected. He struggled in the tight hug. “Bendy?” Bendy put him down and bent down a bit so Henry could see him. “Bendy, it's really you!”

He took in the demon’s appearance. He was really thin, almost concerningly so. His one leg was bent awkwardly, and ink was covering his eyes. He wiped it away, but more came back. Bendy instantly leaned into the touch. It took Henry a few moments to realize he was purring. He was obviously starved for attention. Henry couldn't help but feel awful for that, as well as his skinniness and everything else.

“I'm so glad you're here! I never thought I'd get to see you.”

“I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner. I had no idea Joey did this.”

“I know. Joey was bad. He drove everyone away. I found out from the tapes.” Bendy opened the bag by him, showing Henry the tapes. He dug around before pulling one out. “Henry, this is yours.” He pushed play on it, reciting it word for word. Henry wondered how many times he had listened to it. The thought of Bendy only having the tapes to talk to were sad, and it was even sadder to think about what would happen if he had thrown away the letter without opening it. The thought terrified him.

“Oh! I taught myself how to draw! Do you want to go see?” He asked, clearly excited. Henry couldn't say no even if he wanted to. He and Bendy headed to his old desk where there were two chairs. Bendy showed him the sheets of paper that he had drawn on. Henry could see how he improved with each drawing. 

“These are really good. I can see how much you've improved.” Bendy seemed super happy, purring at the compliment. 

“Thank you. I tried to draw the way you do. I pretended I was an animator, like you. I'm not exactly sure how to be an animator though.”

“It isn't that easy. It's something that has a lot of people helping. You know, I'm sure you would be a great animator. Maybe you can help someday.”

Bendy smiled. “You'd really let me?”

“Of course. First, I think we should get you something to eat.”

“Eat?” Bendy tilted his head. “What's that?”

“It's where you take in food to get energy. It's really important. Joey didn't tell you about it?”

“No. He was always in his office. I was all by myself most of the time. He only talked to me when I got books off the top shelf that he couldn't reach for him.”

Henry felt anger bubbling up. Why didn't Joey tell Bendy about eating? He needed to eat. It was clear he did. He was mad, but the man was gone now. If he showed any anger, Bendy would think he was mad at him.

“I'm sorry he didn't tell me about it.”

“Don't be. It's not your fault. Do you know if there's any food around here?”

“There's cans of soup everywhere.” Bendy got up and grabbed one. “Joey had these sometimes. His were empty though.”

“He must have been eating them. Stay here. I'm going to grab a spoon.” Henry left and came back with a clean spoon. He knew Bendy didn't know how to eat, so after explaining to him, he decided it would probably be best to just feed him and teach him how to do it himself later. 

Bendy ate without complaint. It seemed he wouldn't complain about anything as long as he had some company. “Hey, what would you say if we left the studio?”

“Leave the studio? Where would we go?”

“What if you come move in with me? That way you don't have to be alone? You can even bring the tapes. I think I might be able to do something even better for you.”

“Really? What?” Bendy asked, looking up at Henry in excitement.

“Well, what about we reopen this place? With Joey gone, and you and me here, we should be able to run it better. We can get the others here, or at least get them to visit. You'd like that, wouldn't you?” 

Bendy nodded. “I would! I really would! Do you think they'd really come?”

“Of course they would. How about we give them a call when we get back to my house?” Henry smiled when Bendy agreed enthusiastically and they went to pack up and leave the studio. Bendy’s happiness was contagious. He knew the others would come back and love Bendy just as much as he did. After all, who wouldn't love such a sweetheart like him?


	27. The Race

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The studio has a race, and an unlikely candidate wins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Some chapter four and remastered chapters spoilers ahead! 
> 
> This prompt was given to me anonymously on Tumblr. There is a bit of Sammy/Norman if you squint. I hope you all enjoy!

It was finally spring and warming up after a long, harsh winter. The studio’s first winter without Henry being there. To celebrate and prove that the studio was fun without him, Joey announced that they would be having a race. Anyone from the studio was welcome to participate if they wanted to, and betting was also allowed. The money would go to the studio’s funds. Whoever won would get bragging rights as well as a week off for them and one other person of their choosing.

Quite a few people would be competing. Allison, Sammy, Norman, Wally, Johnny, Lacie, and a few of the band members were, as well as a couple interns would all be in the race.

Joey wanted to be, but he tripped over his feet just walking there so he was out of the question. The others didn’t feel like running and instead made bets.

It was all agreed that Norman was not going to win. He was the slowest walker. Shawn assumed that Wally wouldn’t win either. He was super slow at cleaning up. It was unclear whether that was on purpose or not.

Sammy was pretty fast. Lacie was pretty fast and overall strong, and so was Allison. Johnny was a good build for running. The other band members weren’t bad. They placed their bets as the racers lined up.

“Alright, racers! Are you ready? On your marks, get set, go!!!”

To everyone’s utter surprise, Norman flew, running as fast as he could and easily passing the others. Most stopped dead in their tracks, staring in disbelief and knowing they wouldn’t be able to beat him. Sammy stopped, cheering him on before running to try to catch up with him at the finish line. The only one besides him that kept running was Wally, who wanted that time off and also wanted to tackle him.

Norman easily crossed the finish line first. Wally tackled him, then Sammy made it to congratulate his boyfriend. The others stared with their jaws dropped.

“Pay up,” Grant said with a grin. The betters groaned before paying up.

“The winner is: Norman Polk!!!” Everyone glanced at each other and shrugged before clapping for him.

“Second place was Wally, who was really the only one still trying so he should get off four days. Who are you two picking to be given a day off with you?” Grant asked.

Without hesitation, Norman said Sammy’s name. Wally thought for a moment. “I gotta choose my best friend. Jack!!” Jack smiled, going over to hug his friend. Wally grinned and hugged back while Sammy and Norman hugged and kissed. The others were still surprised at the outcome, but knew one thing. Never underestimate Norman Polk.


	28. Bendy On Your Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After almost being abandoned for the second time by his creator, Bendy decides to take matters into his own hands, escaping the studio and hiding inside of Henry's granddaughter's backpack. However, things don't go as he planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a ton of other things I should be doing, but this idea won out. This was inspired by my best fwiend, Dxrksong during a conversation we were having. I hope you all enjoy this funny concept.

Saying that Bendy was upset was a huge understatement. He was furious, so furious that he could scream, but the man would probably just find a small ink demon screaming to be very cute, no matter how mad it was. Since he was his creation, the man would also probably coo over him. That was one of the last things that Bendy wanted at the moment.

The man is question was his creator. Henry Lamont had been the one to come up with his design, then he left a short time after. Thirty years later, he finally comes back just to leave after barely looking around! He only made it to his desk, too. In his defense, the place was empty, but Bendy wasn't having it. Not after he had been stuck here for years, having to listen to Joey ramble about this and that. He was just going to leave him here for what, another eternity?! Bendy wasn't going to let that happen. He was tagging along, rather the man liked it or not.

He was really good at hiding when he wanted to be. He was good at being silent, and he could also shrink his form or turn into a puddle. The puddle could be told apart from the others, but only by those who knew what they were looking for. Henry wasn't one of those people. Bendy knew this, so that's why he crept onto his sock. It was better than the bottom of his shoe, Bendy thought. A whole lot better.

After making one last call that was never answered, Henry sighed and turned away. He turned back to his desk after a couple of steps though, grabbing the model sheets and drawings he had left of Bendy, as well as the cutout. Bendy was unsure why he did this, but the man wasn't done just yet it seemed. He took some of the posters along, but only certain ones. The ones he worked on, Bendy guessed. 

He took a couple of trips. It seemed he wanted quite a few of those cutouts and posters. Bendy didn't know why. Why did he want those but didn't even want to save him? Joey must have said something about him being alive. He was sure of it. Oh well. He was still coming and leaving this place. At last Henry stepped out, closed the door, and got into his car. Bendy didn't allow himself to sigh quietly in relief until after Henry was on his way back to the place he belonged. 

The man didn't even know anything was wrong. He just drove and hummed. After a little while, Bendy ended up falling asleep, the feelings of the car moving and the humming like a lullaby. He didn't wake up until he felt it stop. Henry got out of the car, arriving at a place Bendy was certain wasn't his home. There were a lot of children trickling out. For a moment, he wasn't sure who he was waiting for, but when a little girl caught sight and started running to him, Bendy was certain it must have been her.

"Grandpa Henry!!!!" The girl cried, jumping on him and hugging him happily.

"Belle!" Henry replied happily. "It's so good to see you. How was your day?" Bendy watched and listened as the girl told about her day as they got into the car. He wasn't really that interested until he heard her ask about how his visit to the studio went.

"It was okay. Can you believe that no-one was there?" Henry asked.

"No-one was there?" The girl echoed, surprise in her voice.

"Nope! Either everyone forgot about the letter, or they just all walked away!" He laughed. "Buuut, since no-one was there, no-one could stop me from taking a few things home."

"Grandpa!!!!" The two burst out laughing. 

"I know it was a bad thing to do, but I couldn't help it! I did find some cool stuff that I'd love to show you and your Mom. Your Mom might even remember some of it."

"You think so?"

"I do."

Bendy spotted this bag by the girl. It seemed like the perfect size for him to hide in. He felt exposed on Henry's pant leg, so he slowly made his way over, careful to make sure no-one noticed. Luckily, no-one did. He got inside, allowing himself to exit the puddle once he was able to see how much room there was. The next trip wasn't long, and he felt the backpack being picked up. He was able to peek and see as they went into a house.

As soon as they were inside, he felt the bag jumping as the girl ran. He couldn't help but let out a yelp at the sudden jostling of it. Luckily, no-one seemed to hear this as the child greeted her mother.

"Mommy, Grandpa brought over some cool stuff!!" She said excitedly.

"Oh, he did? From his visit? Well he can show us if he would like. Do you have any homework?"

"No, but I made this!" The backpack was swung and before Bendy could react, a hand reached in and touched him. He felt it pull away as the child made a noise. He heard Henry and the mother talking, and he felt the backpack being put down. The girl looked in, eyes widening as she met Bendy's eyes. 

"Hello? Mr. Backpack Monster? Can I have my folder?" She asked.

Bendy dug around before pulling out a purple folder, the name Isabelle written on it. He handed it to her. If anyone noticed an inky gloved hand giving a purple folder to her, they didn't say anything.

"Thanks." The girl whispered before taking the folder to her mother. Bendy watched as Henry left the house, coming back in with some cutouts and other stuff. The three sat down to look at them.

"Heh, I remember this one!" The mother said, picking up one of the posters. "Didn't you say that this one was inspired by me?"

"Yep, it sure was, June. It was inspired by you after you went a bit crazy with the glitter."

Bendy listened to his creator tell stories, making both of them laugh. He even had to contain his laughter at some of them. They were pretty funny. Even he had to admit that. 

"Hey, that looks like the backpack monster!!" Isabelle exclaimed. Bendy felt himself freeze, but the adults only laughed, not at all believing what she said. 

They talked for awhile, but then Henry left and things were normal. Bendy let himself sleep. For the most part, things were peaceful, although that changed. The next morning, he heard noise and felt himself being swung. He let out a startled cry, peeking out of the top.

"Oh, sorry Mr. Backpack Monster!!! It's time for school!" Isabelle said. Bendy noticed her mother, June, was there, looking at the backpack in confusion. He sunk down before she could see him.

The way there was fine. He did cower when he heard the other voices of children. It seemed Isabelle was excited to tell them about the "backpack monster.” Unlike the adults, they actually listened and believed her.

"A monster! I wanna see!!" Said a boy's voice. Some other voices rose in agreement. Bendy felt the backpack taken off and sat down, and could only watch in horror as two hands came into the bag.

"No, wait! Don't-"

He was pulled out of the backpack, squinting from the sun as he saw the children look at him curiously.

"Hey, the backpack monster is actually Bendy!!!" Isabelle exclaimed.

"Uh...hi?" Bendy asked. He was terrified they'd hurt him, but it seemed they were excited to talk to him. They seemed like nice kids. They were happily talking when this bell rang. He got put back into her backpack and went inside the building. Through the open spot, he could see them going inside a classroom. The girl sat at her desk, backpack right by her feet. 

Throughout the day, he would give her what she needed from her bag. The kids sitting near her would stop, looking at the small cartoon hand giving her the supplies from the bag. Apparently something must have been said or seen, because when Isabelle walked out, she told him that both Henry and her mother were waiting.

"Hi Isabelle," her mother said cheerfully, although Bendy could tell something was off with her tone. He didn't know what until Henry offered to hold her bag. Bendy tried to object and get her to see something was wrong, but Isabelle, not suspecting anything, gave her bag over. 

The ride home was odd. He didn't dare move. Henry was careful, but Bendy still didn't like being held by the man that didn't even care about his existence. He also noticed a lot of questions were about the backpack monster.

"Oh, the backpack monster is actually Bendy!" Isabelle said. "He looks just like he did on that poster. He saw the other children, and he helped give me stuff at class. He's really funny."

Bendy knew his doom was near as the bag was sat on the ground. "Bendy dear? You can come out now," June said to him. The bag was tightly closed, and he wasn't even considering opening it. He just stayed still.

"Come on, Bendy! Come out!!" Isabelle cried, putting her hands in. This time, Bendy wasn't having it, and he melted. Isabelle was rather surprised and sad about this, Bendy realized. He felt bad about upsetting her, but he wasn't getting out. It seemed the others found this out after it had been a few hours and he still hadn't budged. His back was turned from the bag, not talking to any of them when they tried to get him to come out. It seemed something must have been discussed, because he heard them leave, the door shutting behind them. He stayed put. He found out that was good, because he wasn't alone like he thought.

"Bendy?" It was his creator. 

"What do you want?" Bendy asked, his voice shaking a little. He was ready to go into a puddle at any moment, refusing to even look at his creator.

"I know you must be scared Bendy, but no-one is going to hurt you. It'll be alright."

"No, Henry. I'm not scared. Scared was falling out of that machine and flat on my face because apparently Joey didn't think to catch me!" His creator was silent, so Bendy went on. "He went crazy after you left, y-you know? Everyone kept leaving and leaving until he was all alone, so then he created me because he was so lonely. I was all alone with him, and he never shut up, Henry. He just kept going on and on and then after listening to him for ages, he just leaves on vacation!! You'd think that if he had money for vacations, he'd have the money for a therapist or someone besides me to listen."

"Joey did always like to talk, but I never thought he'd..." His voice trailed off. "I'm so sorry Bendy. I would have never abandoned you if I knew. He never told me you were alive."

"He didn't?"

"No. I can show you the letter for proof. I figured you wouldn't believe me, so I brought it." He showed Bendy the letter. As the cartoon demon saw, the letter didn't mention what it was that Joey wanted to show him.

"You'd think that would be worthy of a warning," Bendy said, more to himself than anything as he handed the letter back.

"Yeah, no kidding. So, you see, I didn't know. I have no idea how you got here, or ended up in Isabelle's backpack, but I'm glad you did, Bendy. I know you're mad and that's okay. I just want you to know that you can come out when you want to. I know I wasn't the best creator. I'm not going to try to be controlling or anything like that, either."

"Heh, you're already better at it than Joey. I...I think I might try coming out." Bendy slowly opened the bag, creeping out. He went back to his normal size once out. He glanced at his creator, hearing his shocked gasp as he took in his small creation.

When Henry reached out to touch him, Bendy could obviously tell that he didn't think he'd get to. Bendy let him do that and even more as he went to give him a hug. "I forgive you for everything, Henry." He said quietly.

"I'm so glad." Henry petted his head as he hugged him back. The two was so glad that everything was alright. The anger was gone, replaced with forgiveness and even some love. 

When June and Isabelle got home, they found the two laughing as they compared their drawings they had done. 

"I told you it would work," June said as Isabelle ran over to hug the “backpack monster.”

"You wouldn't believe this guy! He can almost draw me with his eyes shut!" 

"He can? Grandpa, you never told me that!"

"You never asked!" Henry said with a laugh. "Alright everyone, give me a pen and paper, and I'll show you."

Hearing the laughter from June and Isabelle as they sat down by him, Bendy knew that he had made the right decision at coming out of the backpack. He learned that he had a family, and they were greater than he ever could have imagined. He knew he would be happy here with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may not have been explained in the story, but I based it in an AU where instead of going crazy and sacrificing his employees, Joey just let them all go and created Bendy. I just went with this because Henry isn't going to go back to the studio, and I don't want to doom everyone into being stuck there forever since this was supposed to just be funny and not at all serious. I hope you all liked this!


	29. Change Of Form

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After hearing about the benefits and what people love about being toons and made of ink, Grant decides that he should try it, but he realizes that things may be even better than he expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a prompt submitted by MsFaust. The prompt was: "-While those who'd had fallen victim to the machine didn't ask to be transformed into ink creatures (or Toons, in some cases), it was clear they had no desire to return to human form. But it wasn't until he became one himself that Grant understood why.  
> (...)  
> Amazed by his new form's malleability, he wondered what else he could do."
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this!

Joey had been insane. For a long time he wanted to create living toons. He wanted it so badly that he was prepared to do anything, even sacrifice his employees to achieve that. He had turned some into creatures made of ink, and some became toons themselves. While those who'd had fallen victim to the machine didn't ask to be transformed into ink creatures (or Toons, in some cases), it was clear they had no desire to return to human form. But it wasn't until he became one himself that Grant understood why.

Grant never thought he would ever want to become one. He always viewed what had happened to some of the others as a tragedy. They weren't dead, but they weren't human any longer. He was certain they were insane for enjoying that, but his idea soon changed.

He was going to the break room to talk to his best friends, Thomas and Shawn. Thomas had recently been turned into a toon resembling Boris almost perfectly. He hadn't really talked about what happened much at all for a couple days, but today was different. When he had sat down, Thomas was already talking to Shawn.

"You know, I feel like I did back when I was sixteen. It's odd, but I actually think I'm able to move around more than Wally, and he's only twenty!"

"Really?" Shawn asked, interested. "Yer not yankin' any chains?"

"No! I'm being serious. Just ask Wally. A pipe fell on my leg and it didn't even hurt. If you're not convinced, I could do a flip right here."

"You're telling the truth, right Thomas?" Grant asked.

"Yes, Grant. I'm being completely serious."

"So, maybe what Joey did wasn't so bad?" 

Thomas was silent for a moment. "I don't like what Drew did, doing this to some without permission, but this wasn't like that at all. I heard what it was like from Bertrum when Joey did it. This was a lot better, and I really like my form. You have to wonder why it is that no-one ever wants to turn back, even the ones Joey turned. Heck, some people are even volunteering like I did!"

The practice was stopped as soon as Joey created Bendy. Joey had died during the ritual, and upon learning what the man had been doing, Bendy was appalled. He immediately stopped the rituals. He had found a cure to reverse all of this and turn everyone back to normal, but those who had been turned didn't want to go back.

"Is Bendy doing those rituals?" Shawn asked.

"I don't think he wants to, but he's still doing them for the people who ask. It's a lot more pleasant now he's doing it. You get to create your own model sheet for it with him. He has a much higher success rate too. All of the ones he's done have turned out perfectly."

"Ya know, I'm considerin' getting one done myself," Shawn said. Grant silently agreed with him. Perhaps the silent agreement was what had brought him to Bendy's office. He knocked on the door.

"Come in!" The door opened, Bendy looking up. "Oh, Mr. Cohen! It's great to see you! I didn't get to tell you earlier, but the budget plan is perfect. I think it'll be great."

"Thank you," Grant said nervously. "I'm sure you'll he better than Drew at sticking to it. Heh." He shifted a bit, unsure how exactly to ask for what he was here about.

"You can come take a seat if you want. You look like you have a lot on your mind." Grant sat down, looking at the frames Bendy was working on. It seemed Bendy took Grant not actually looking at him to be because he was uncomfortable or nervous. "I'm sorry if this form makes you uneasy. I can see over the desk better this way." Bendy laughed. "I have to sit on a pile of books in the other one, and it gets uncomfortable after a little bit."

"I can imagine. It isn't that, Bendy. I just... I was talking to Thomas and he was talking about his new form. He says there were a lot of benefits to it. I was wondering if I could maybe change my form?"

Bendy didn't answer right away. Instead, he closed the vial of ink and began clearing off his desk. "It seems everyone is asking me for that. Yesterday someone brought in their wife because she wanted to be a toon like her husband. I don't understand it. I mean, I know they say that their bodies have less limitations and it seems most of the world is accepting of it now, but still. It makes me uncomfortable."

"It does?" Grant asked in surprise. No-one ever told him that. He was certain that if they knew they would have mentioned it. Everyone loved Bendy. If he said it made him uncomfortable, they wouldn't keep bothering him about this, right? Bendy seemed to know what he was thinking.

"Yeah. I never told anyone. They have their own problems to deal with. Besides, I'm not sure I'd be able to say no. Not when they're so excited about the ideas of it. You're different though. I trust you. You're really smart, and I think you'd understand. I don't mind doing it for people. I want them to be happy in a body they love, but what I'm doing to them is like what Joey did. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if I'm like him. Am I really any better, doing the same deeds he did?"

"Of course you are, Bendy. I could go on all day about how you're so much better. You only do it when people ask you. Joey did it on people without their permission, and I know he didn't help them design their new bodies. He was a selfish man wanting to create living toons. He didn't care about who he used to achieve that or who got hurt. You do. You helped the ones who were turned against their will design their bodies, and you help the people who come to you asking for a change."

"That's true." Bendy said at last, a smile returning to his face. "Alright, you need to be sure about this. One hundred percent positive that you want this. There is a way to go back. It's simple too, but I don't want you to have to go through the stress and trouble of having a body you weren't totally sure you wanted. Maybe we'll design your body today, let you sleep on it, and tomorrow if you're still sure we can go on and do it?"

"That sounds fair."

Bendy pulled out a paper. "Alright, who's your favorite cartoon character?"

"That's an easy one. Edgar of course."

"What? It's not me?" He laughed before Grant could answer. "I'm kidding. Alright, what do you like about Edgar's design?"

Bendy and Grant designed the body. Grant decided that he wanted to keep just two legs, but having extra arms would be very nice. They designed how they'd look before moving onto the rest of his body. Grant was pleased with the end result. Even Bendy seemed pleased, but was sure to remind Grant to carefully think this over.

Grant found himself thinking about it a lot. He told a couple of his friends about it, and they were all supportive. He decided this was what he wanted, and the next day, he went to see Bendy.

"Good morning, Mr. Cohen! Did you think it over?" Bendy asked.

Grant nodded. "I did. I still want to do it. I'm confident it's a good choice and that I'll like it."

Bendy smiled. "Well, in that case, let's get started." He grabbed a spellbook before the two headed to the ink machine. Grant was glad that the pipes had all been fixed. It was the first thing Bendy did once taking charge of the studio, and with the transformations people were getting, it was a great idea. He could only imagine how much flooding they would cause.

"Alright, so how this is going to work is I'm going to put your model sheet into the machine right here. Then you'll stand under it, and I'll read the spell. You'll go into the ink for a moment or two, then when you emerge, you'll be in your new body. If you ever want to go back to your old one, the process will be the same, only you'll go into the ink and emerge in your human body. Sound good?"

Grant nodded. "It sounds good."

"Great! Any other questions?" The man shook his head, not really able to think of any. "Alright! Are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready."

Bendy instructed Grant on what to do. He had him stand under the machine, and after checking again to make sure he was completely sure that he wanted to do this, he turned on the machine and read the spell. 

Grant felt himself sink into the ink, finding that what he had expected was totally different. It was soothing, like a bath almost, only cold. He swore he could even hear some soothing music playing in the background, but he didn't get to listen for long. The next thing he knew, he was pulled out.

"There you are! Perfectly on model, too!" Bendy said happily. He gave Grant a towel to dry the excess ink. Once he was dry, Grant looked at his form. He liked the way it looked. "Of course you can try to see what all you can do on your own. You may even surprise yourself."

Grant kept that in mind as he went back to his office. After doing his work, he decided to give it a try. He found himself easily able to flip or bend, and he could even climb up the wall. He was excited to tell his friends. He wondered what they would say.

He had never thought that his form would be like this. So perfect. He loved being a toon now. Everyone was right when they said how being an ink creature made life so much better and easier. Amazed by his new form's malleability, he wondered what else he could do. Things were truly limitless. He knew without a doubt that he had made the right decision.


	30. Alice And The Super Toons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's just another normal day at the studio for the toons, until the adults have to deal with a scary thing called a deadline. They're bored and unsure what to play until Alice suggests they play superheroes, and a whole world of fun is unleashed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This idea was sent in by MsFaust. The idea was for them to imagine/discuss superhero names. I thought this would be a perfect ones for the toons, and a lot of cuteness ensued. I hope you all enjoy!

Alice sat excitedly in the circle with all of the toons. It was another busy day. All of the humans were busy, so that meant they would have to just play with each other. They had been able to convince Sammy and Jack to play a game of tag with them earlier, but now they had to do work again. There was something they called a deadline coming up, and according to Henry, they were as scary as they sounded. They would need to keep themselves entertained until they were done.

"What should we play?" Bendy asked.

"Go fish?" Barley suggested, like he always did.

"Do we even have any cards?"

Charley shrugged. "He doesn't even know what go fish is!"

"Yes I do! It's when you go find a lake and go fish."

"There are no lakes here!"

"We'll just have to make one!"

"Isn't that a little dangerous?" Boris asked, worry already in his expression as he signed. "Besides, we can't leave the studio. Everyone will be angry if we make a lake inside."

"True." Barley was quiet as he thought.

"Oooh, I know! What if we play super heroes?" Alice suggested. That got everyone's attention.

"I don't wanna be the bad guy though." Edgar said.

"Yeah, that gets kind of boring. Especially when we're always the bad guys in the cartoon. I wish Joey would have made someone else the bad guys instead of us. It gets uncool." Charley agreed.

"I guess I could be the bad guy." Boris offered. Alice could tell by the way he signed the words that he was reluctant.

"But then you wouldn't want to be evil!” Bendy reminded him. The last time Boris tried to be the bad guy, he didn't want to actually do anything bad. His backstory was that he fell asleep by a no sleeping sign, and none of the toons could pretend to fight someone for doing something like that.

"No, what if we're all the heroes? We can be the heroes and fight evil in the studio!" Everyone was intrigued by Alice's idea. 

"Who would be the villain?" Barley asked.

"What about Wally's broom? He'd let us borrow it. He has a whole closet full of them!"

"Can the broom's evil sidekick be the dustpan?" Edgar asked.

"Yeah, and the mop can be his annoyed mother!" Bendy said.

"Let's name her Janet though. That sounds like a good name." The others agreed with Boris's name for the mop. 

"Now we have to find names for us! Superheroes need cool names!"

"What about the Dancing Demon? I want to wear my tutu or one of my dresses." 

"Hmm... What about the masked ballerina? You could be a demon ballerina and have ribbons that can tie up your enemies! Oh, and maybe magical sharp heels!!" Alice suggested.

"Oooh! There's even a masquerade mask I can wear!" Alice and Bendy hi-fived before Bendy ran off to get his costume ready. 

Boris was deep in thought. "What if I'm a burglar? You know, someone who steals things from the enemy? Like a spy or something?"

"That sounds awesome, Boris!" The wolf was amazing at being silent. He hardly ever made any kinds of sounds. Alice remembered one time when she heard some of the others talking about how quiet Norman was. Boris definitely had him beat by a lot. "Hmm... Maybe your name could be the Silent Wolf? Or maybe the Shadow Wolf?"

"Could it just be the Shadow? I don't want to give away my secret identity."

"That sounds great! I didn't think of that."

Charley was also thinking about his superhero name. "That sounds super cool, Boris! I'm thinking I could be the Piper. Just think about it. Before I attack, I play a note from the pipe!"

"That's so cool, Charley!" Edgar exclaimed. 

"Now for us, and you, Alice." Barley said. He tried to think. "I can't really think of anything except for just Barley, and isn't the point being a superhero is keeping your identity secret?"

"You can still be Barley! You don't have to call yourself a fancy name. What if you're, the Fisher?" Edgar asked. 

"The Fisher?"

"Yeah! You have a magical fishing rod that can catch bad guys or steal stuff from them. Maybe it even doubles as a grappling hook?"

Barley thought for a moment at Edgar's idea. He grinned. "Edgar, you're a genius!!!"

The spider smiled and then they turned their attention at Bendy as he ran back. He was wearing a very fluffy dress, one that looked exactly like what a ballerina would wear. He had on his masquerade mask and high heels. He even had on a bit of makeup. 

"I ran into Susie and Allison! They helped me with my costume and a bit of makeup. Now I look like a ballerina for sure!" He smiled proudly. 

"You look stunning, Bendy!" Alice exclaimed. 

"You look more like a Queen than a ballerina though," Edgar commented. "Maybe a Queen ballerina! If there's a thing."

"Y-you really think so?" Bendy was thrilled. His friends nodded. 

"Not just any queen. An elegant demon queen!" Boris added. 

"Thanks! You all are the best!" Bendy sat back down in the circle. "What did I miss?"

The others filled him in on their superhero identities and thoughts. He was supportive of all of them, excited by the cool things his friends had come up with. 

"Now there's just Edgar and I." Alice said.

Edgar nodded. "I was thinking of being a sort of mad scientist for the hero side! You know, like a chemist. I could make inventions and potions to help us! Maybe I could be the Chemist. I could wear my goggles and maybe even a lab coat or a cape?"

"Sounds great Edgar! You'd be the most amazing scientist!" Barley exclaimed. 

"Yeah!!!" Charley agreed.

Alice was enthusiastic for her friends, but she couldn't really think of anything for herself. She was so thrilled with her friends' ideas that she couldn't even come up with her own. "I love it! All of your ideas are great." She frowned. "I...can't really come up with mine though."

"Well, every team needs a leader. You can be our fearless leader, helping the team be the best they can be!" 

Alice was surprised at Bendy's idea. The others were quick to jump on board, already giving ideas on how Alice helped round up the team.

"I got one! I can be Night's Angel. I saw the chaos on earth the bad guys were causing, so one night, I fell from Heaven to assemble a team to fight them. Sometimes, I get self conscious about how I fell, but do you know what saves me?" The toons shook their heads, interested at what Alice was going to say. "All of you! My very best friends!"

They were already excited and they hadn't even started yet. They all had a group hug. They were still hugging when Henry came in. "Hello everyone." 

"Henry!" The toons ran over to see their creator. 

"We thought you had that deadline." Alice said.

"We did, but we met it. We're all done now. What are you all up to?"

"We're playing superheroes!" Bendy told him

"Superheroes huh?"

"Yeah! We just picked out our identities though." Boris explained.

"Would you like to hear them?" Edgar asked.

"Sure!" The toons excitedly told him their identities and how the others helped them. By the end, Henry was just as excited as they were.

"It sounds amazing. I think I know something even more amazing though. Why don't I write down each of your stories? We could make a series for it. What would you think about that?"

Alice gasped in surprise. "Really?"

"Of course! Do you know what? Your name can be on it with mine and Joey's. All of your names can be."

The toons were thrilled. They agreed, hugging Alice and excited to begin. Henry laughed at their excitement, then all of them headed to Henry's office. They had all been told dreams come true, and now, they knew it was true. Dreams really did come true, and Alice was thrilled. This was going to be amazing.


	31. Allison Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Voicing Alice Angel has always been Allison Pendle's pride and joy. When Susie Campbell takes her job, she is hurt and desperate to get it back, but just how far is she willing to go to get her job back?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This prompt was given to me by MsFaust. The prompt was "Everything feels like it's coming apart. When I walked into the recording booth today, Sammy was there with that...Susie. Apparently, I didn't get the memo. Alice Angel will now be voiced by Miss Susie Campbell. A part of me died when he said that. There's gotta be a way to fix this!"
> 
> Thank you for the prompt, and I apologize for the long wait. I hope you all enjoy!

Allison loved voicing Alice Angel. When she first heard of the character, she wanted to voice her because their names were so alike. Allison and Alice. It was like it was meant to be. She felt that if anything, she was at least good for the part because of her name. She felt it would be cool to voice a character with a name similar to her own. 

Alice was so unique. Her personality wasn't like one of a traditional angel. She was smart, witty, stylish, and she loved to play pranks. She would be a role model for so many people. Once Allison fully knew her character, Alice was who she aspired to be, too. She knew then that voicing her would be a dream come true. Perhaps they would make history. 

With that thought in mind, she applied for the job. Her tryouts immediately convinced the music director, Sammy Lawrence. They even convinced the lyricist and Sammy's close friend, Jack Fain. Despite this, the owner of the studio wasn't so sure. Allison didn't know if Mister Drew doubted her talent, or if he didn't think she would be a good fit. He wasn't clear on it. She was a little discouraged, but she wasn't about to give up. She kept trying, showing him and everyone else how perfect she was for the role. She knew in her heart that she was perfect for it. Sooner or later, they would have to see it. 

Eventually, there was no denying that she was good at what she did. They told her that she was a natural at it. It was like it was in her blood. She felt that maybe she was born to play this part. Now that she had it, she was so happy. She felt a deep connection with Alice. It was as if Alice was a part of her. She didn't think anyone could take that away, but it was foolish of her to think that. Joey was a crafty man, one that was always scheming. As far as that went, he doubted her from the beginning.

Because of that, it shouldn't have been much of a shock when she came into the recording booth that morning to see the new girl there. A lot of people thought highly of Miss Campbell. She was a nice woman, and was good at voicing the minor background characters in the show. She did have an amazing voice, but Allison wasn't all that fond of her. Sure, she was likable, but Allison felt that she was too likeable. It seemed she had been shoved aside for Susie. Like Susie magically was royalty, and Allison was left to be forgotten. Left as nothing but some intern. Her friends talked about Susie constantly, and even Sammy, her most trusted friend, only talked about her. Maybe that was why the sight hurt her so badly. 

The sight was nothing, though. Not compared to the words that came from Sammy's mouth. They cut through her more than the sharpest blade ever could. She couldn't understand how and why this had happened. In that moment, her heart shattered. It felt like parts of herself were lost.

They asked her to wait, wanting to explain more about what was going on. She could see the concern in Susie's eyes, but she couldn't stay. She couldn't see her as anything but a monster for this. Her and Sammy both were monsters. She left, sprinting out of the room as tears welled up in her eyes. She ran as fast as she could, finally locking herself in one of the studio's bathrooms. She let the tears flow freely as she sobbed. She felt so broken and betrayed. What did she do wrong? Was she not enough for them? They said she was perfect for the role, so why? Why would they do this to her? Why would Sammy do this? She thought he was her friend. How could she have let him hurt her like this?

She had to get her feelings out somehow. She could feel them boiling inside. She had to tell someone or something about the hurt she was facing. That's where she took the tape recorder. It was something she could tell, and it wouldn't judge her. It wouldn't betray her like the others. Unless someone found it, her secrets would be hidden. 

She sighed, wiping her eyes. She composed herself before pushing the play button. It wasn't no use though. As she spoke, she could feel more tears falling down her cheeks. "Everything feels like it's coming apart. When I walked into the recording booth today, Sammy was there with that...Susie. Apparently, I didn't get the memo. Alice Angel will now be voiced by Miss Susie Campbell. A part of me died when he said that. There's gotta be a way to fix this!"

She shut off the tape as she wiped her eyes, meeting her sorrowful reflection in the mirror. Her look of sorrow turned into a look of determination. That was right. She could fix this. She got the role one, and she could get it again! She'd prove them all wrong, and they would see that she could play Alice. That she was a star! She left the bathroom with a newfound determination.

That's where it began. She had several talks with Sammy. He tried to stop her, but she refused to let him. Eventually, he had no choice but to let her compete with Susie. As long as Joey let her, that is.

He did let her. Since this, it seems he started to notice her. He recognized her talents. He said that he could help her. He even invited her to dinner to discuss things.

Allison still remembers the day clearly. She remembers how far she had been willing to go to achieve her dreams. She had pushed her friends away, refused to be friends with Susie, and even agreed to go on a date with her boss. She may have been going insane, but the moment Joey gave her a solution and called her Alice, her stomach dropped. She knew in her gut that this wasn't right. This wasn't the way to go. Right then, she knew the exact reason Joey had replaced her. It was to get her to be desperate enough to go along with his plan. She realized, with a sickening feeling, how close she was to taking it.

She declined his offer right away. He told her it was the only way she would be able to fix it. "If you refuse, well, let's just say that you can kiss your dreams of being Alice goodbye. You'll never be famous, or loved by millions. You'll be forgotten. You don't want that, now do you, Alice?"

"I appreciate the offer, Mister Drew, but I am not Alice. I'm Allison. I may not be remembered, but at least I'll live my life being who I was meant to be. I'm Allison Pendle, and no matter what you do, you can never take that away from me." She left the restaurant he took her to feeling a sense of realization. She knew what she had been turned into, and what she was meant to do. She also knew just how horribly she treated all of her friends. 

What had she said? She said that there had to be a way to fix it. Maybe she was still right. She knew that if she hurried, she would be just in time to hear Susie read her lines and sing. She could be there to congratulate her after, to tell her that she was proud and happy for her. 

Susie had looked up to her. She wanted to work with and be friends with her. She was too blind to see it, but now she wasn't. None of this was Susie's fault. This wasn't any of her friends' fault. Now, she finally saw the light. She was Allison, and it was time she acted like it. She knew she could make things right.


	32. All In The Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Besides Joey, Henry works with a different studio crew than the ones in the game. He leaves the studio, and thirty years, Henry arrives to find hell has broken loose. In a studio full of dangerous monsters, Henry will have to fight for his survival. Luckily for him, he has allies prepared to help his quest to free all that are trapped here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a prompt given to me by MsFaust. The prompt was "What if Henry worked with a 'previous generation' of employees (whom Joey used to create the Toons and monsters), and didn't meet any of the canon characters (other than Joey) until after the events of the game? (No canon characters harmed)"
> 
> At first, this was difficult to write. Not for the lack of ideas, but for the overabundance of them. There was a lot of potential with this idea. Despite this, the story is ready now. I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Kathryn is inspired by Dxrksong, who is an important person that is very dear to my heart.
> 
> Check out some fanart of Kathryn by Dxrksong here: https://dxrksong.tumblr.com/post/176791813343/kathryn-circus-craze-this-is-your-fault

Henry had gone through hell. It all started with the ink demon jumping at him through the boards in the room that had the ink machine. Then, he had to survive an encounter with William Anderson, his old friend. Well, if he could even be called that. It was clear that William wasn't his friend anymore. The musician had turned crazy. He had a radio for a head, and was quite violent to any he happened to encounter. He was nothing like the William he used to know. His troubles didn't end there, though. He had learned that Rosalie Jones, the former janitor of the studio, was not as kind hearted as she seemed. He thought she was his ally, but she had betrayed him and tried to sacrifice him to the ink demon. 

After all of this, he was tired of ink and everything that was made of it. He guessed he couldn't necessarily say that. He was tired of almost everything made of ink. Along the way, he had met some companions that didn't betray him like Rosalie. There was Boris, the same kind hearted wolf that he used to draw all of those years ago, and there was Bendy, the sweet little demon that tried to see the good in everyone. They were what made all of this worth it. Now, they were going to save Alice. After they saved her, they would fight Joey and set everyone free. 

"Where did you say Alice was again?" Henry asked Bendy. The little demon was riding on his shoulders, tired from the last fight they had against the storyboarder. It was hard to believe that the creature had once been George Hills, a storyboarder that had worked on the cartoons. The creature had been able to turn Bendy against him, and although Henry and Boris had managed to get Bendy back without hurting him, it took a lot out of the little demon.

"It shouldn't be that far away. She and the ink enchantress stay together. They should be in their sanctuary. It's on the next floor," Bendy answered.

"The ink enchantress?" Henry asked. He had never heard of her before.

"Her name is Kathryn Miller. She was a voice actress. She's really powerful, plus she's on her side. She'll definitely help you fight Joey." Boris explained.

"Yeah, she doesn't like him."

"She has a good reason not to. Especially with what he did to you." Bendy had been injured by Joey when trying to lead some of the others to safety. He had gotten his face scratched, and was missing an eye. He had scars that constantly had the side of his face inky, but it didn't stop him. He was always optimistic. 

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Bendy yawned before laying his head on top of Henry's. He fell asleep quickly as they kept going. Eventually, they made it to what they could only guess as their sanctuary.

"Hello, Boris and Bendy. Alice was wondering when you'd stop by. Who's your friend?" An unfamiliar voice asked. Henry guessed it must have been Kathryn.

"Kathryn, this is Henry Lamont. He used to work here," Boris explained.

"Hey, Kathryn." Bendy said tiredly.

"Ah, so this is Henry. I've heard a lot of good things. Come on in." 

The giant doors began to open, making the place shake. Henry noticed the all too familiar ink veins coat the walls. He quickly ushered Boris inside before following. It was just in time, too. The ink demon noticed them, but instead of trying to attack, it just growled angrily. The doors slammed shut.

"This way!" Boris called. Henry followed as Boris led the way. They arrived to the room, and Henry was met with another small, familiar toon hugging him.

"Henry! I knew you'd come back for us!!" Alice exclaimed. 

Henry smiled, kneeling down so he could hug her better. He was glad to see her. "If I knew what was going to happen, I never would have left."

"Then you would have been stuck in this like the rest of us," A voice said. Henry looked up to see a cloaked figure. She was in an inky long cloak. Her hair went to her shoulders and was black, although Henry was sure it wasn't always that color.

"Yeah. At least you're here now!" Alice smiled.

"You're right," Henry agreed. "I just wish there was a way to fix this."

"There is. I'm positive that there is a spell to fix this. We'll just have to defeat Joey and find it. I doubt it will be easy, but I think we can do it."

"I'm not entirely sure, but it's worth a shot." Henry turned to the three toons. "If we do try this, you three are staying here in the sanctuary."

"What?" Bendy cried. "No! I want to help!"

"I do too!" Alice said. 

"You saved us, Henry. I can't just stand by and do nothing. None of us can. We can help if you'll let us." Boris tried to reason. 

"This is going to be dangerous. Who knows what Joey has up his sleeves. I don't want any of you to get hurt."

"I already got hurt!" Bendy protested.

"I know! I can't let him hurt you again! You three have been through more than enough."

"I don't mean to break up this argument, but Alice, you do remember the barrier and healing spells I taught you, right?" Kathryn asked.

"Spells?" Henry asked.

"Yeah, I remember them!!! I can do them right now!!!" Alice said triumphantly. 

Henry frowned. If Alice could put up a barrier and heal the others, maybe they could help? "Alright, fine. I'll consider it. Kathryn, do you think you could teach those spells to Bendy and Boris, too?"

Kathryn grinned. "You bet I can. This is going to be fun!" She paused for a moment. "Want to learn some spells too, Henry?"

Henry chuckled. "No thanks. I'm afraid that this old man doesn't have a magical bone in his body."

"Not with that attitude you don't. I could always teach you. Keep it in mind, alright?" 

Over the course of a few days, Kathryn taught the toons various spells. Despite Henry's initial doubts, the toons were doing very well, and the spells were working perfectly. With enough persuasion from the three, Henry finally gave in and let Kathryn teach him the spells. To his surprise, he was able to do them pretty well. He wondered if he was good at it, or if Kathryn was just a good teacher. Maybe it was both. 

They took plenty of time to prepare. He didn't want to rush into it without every single scenario practiced and plans developed for each. Joey was unpredictable. He undoubtedly had plans for this, so they would have do be prepared. 

Finally, it was time. All of them had weapons, and could remember how to use spells. This would work. It had to. He had to have faith. The fight was long. As Henry predicted, Joey did have tricks up his sleeves. Corrupting the toons and getting them to fight against Henry and Kathryn was one of his plans, though when Joey tried to attack them and do it, he found that the toons were able to easily defend themselves. Henry wouldn't forget the look on his face when that happened.

He and Kathryn did get some cuts, scrapes, and bruises, but most of the bad things from the fight was feeling tired. As far as it went for Henry, he didn't feel as tired as he should have. In fact, he felt more lively, as odd as that sounded.

They won. It was narrow, but not nearly as narrow as he thought it would have been. Joey was defeated. He told them which spell he used to do this, although he refused to say more. Henry was glad about that.

"Now what?" Alice asked tiredly. She looked ready for a rest. In fact, all three of the toons did. 

"We have to find a reversal spell. We were able to stop Joey from influencing the others, but we need to find a way to change everyone back to normal." Kathryn explained.

"We also have to make sure Joey won't be able to escape." They did have him in an imprisonment spell, but Henry still wanted to make sure he stayed there, and after some research, they were able to use a spell to reverse everything. "You should go, Kathryn. You know what you're looking for. Boris, you can go with her, and Alice and Bendy can stay with me. Just in case Joey decides that he should try to get a drop on the old man."

"Alright." Kathryn agreed with a nod. "I should probably mention that you aren't necessarily an old man anymore." She left without further elaboration, Boris happily following her.

"Well, that was odd. I wonder what she meant by that. Probably that my actions showed me to not be as old as I am."

"Um...Henry? You might wanna look in the mirror over there," Alice said. "She was being seriously. You don't look old anymore."

"Yeah, you look really young!" Bendy agreed.

Henry got up, even more confused. Were they playing a trick on him? They seemed sincere, and when he looked into the mirror, the sight of a much younger man met his eyes. He looked to be in his twenties. He couldn't believe it.

"Well... Now I understand why I felt much younger when I was fighting Joey. I really was younger. I just don't know how, or why."

"The ink machine can do a lot of things. Maybe it did this?" Alice asked.

"It could have." Henry frowned at his reflection once more before going to keep an eye on Joey. As much as Joey did try, he couldn't escape. Kathryn returned with the spell. When she said it, Henry was certain it would make him old again, but he stayed the same age. 

"You know, this is a bit odd." Henry admitted. Before I came here, I had a job interview for a new animation studio. I wonder if I got the job, and if I did, how am I going to explain this to them?"

Kathryn only shrugged. "Just show them the toons. After seeing them, your age change will be their last concern. Besides, right now everyone is human and very confused. Let's worry about sorting this out before what potential employers are going to thank, shall we?"

"You're right." This did come first. They'd have to take things one at a time. He just had to hope that Mr. Grant Cohen would be an understanding man. After all, he wouldn't expect anything less for an employer. Joey wasn't understanding. As far as that went, Henry never wanted to meet another person like him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy. There's going to be one more known story taking place in this universe. If anything in the story is confusing, let me know. Feel free to ask any questions you have. Thank you for reading!


	33. A Very Peculiar Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While mopping the floors, Wally overhears a very weird conversation. Like Sammy, the others are curious for the details, but they are odder than they expected.
> 
> This takes place in the same AU as "All In The Past." That AU will be known as the Past AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another story for "The Past AU." In this AU, Joey was still the owner of the studio, but Henry worked with a 'previous generation' of employees. He didn't meet any of the canon characters, (aside from Grant) until after the studio events.
> 
> Kathryn Miller is inspired by Dxrksong.

Sammy Lawrence was proud to be a musician. It was his true calling. Music was important to him. It was how he could express himself. He could never imagine doing another job, so he was thrilled when he got hired to Cohen Studios. It was like a prayer had been answered. 

He met a lot of talented people. There was Susie Campbell, a woman with a beautiful voice, Allison Pendle, another woman with a strong, powerful voice. There was Jack Fain, a lyricist with genius far beyond his years. Johnny Carlington could play the organ better than anyone he's ever heard, and Norman was a brilliant projectionist. 

There were a lot of other great people that weren't in the music department, and some very interesting characters, like Thomas Conner, Shawn Flynn, Bertrum Piedmont, and Grant Cohen himself. The most interesting of these was one he hardly knew anything about. Henry Lamont.

Henry was interviewed for an animator's position. He was a good fit. Grant was talking about how great he was. The thing was, he didn't return his calls about being hired, and when his shift started, he never showed up. One day, he did. He had called Grant, and they had a meeting. Wally Franks, the janitor, was sweeping in that area. Being the natural eavesdropper he was, he listened in. The others were waiting for him in the breakroom.

"Alright, Franks! Spill the beans! What did you hear?" Sammy demanded.

"Tell us!" Susie said.

"Alright, alright. You ain't gonna believe this though! The man that went into that room wasn't like the guy hired at all. He was this old man before, and now he was in his twenties! Early twenties, too. He walks in with a woman and these three toons, too! Real, living cartoons! I wouldn't have believed it myself if the angel one hadn't felt my shirt to see what fabric it was made with!"

"An angel?" Allison frowned. "It sounds sketchy to me."

"It was true! Boy, did that guy have quite the story to tell. Apparently, he went to visit his old friend, Joey Drew, only to find the animation studio had went to hell. Drew turned himself into an ink demon and all the workers into abominations! He won, but he turned younger from the ink machine. He says he helped everyone, and he's still helping them get back on their feet. Apparently the woman, Kathryn Miller, was one of them. She was a voice actress turned ink enchantress."

"You believed that?" Shawn asked. 

"It's kind of hard not to when the water in your mop bucket floats out!"

Jack frowned. "The power must have stuck around like Henry's age change."

"You don't believe this, do you, Jack?" Thomas asked.

"I believe him. Look at his face. He sounds and looks serious to me." Sammy said.

"Thank you, Sammy!"

"I've been building parks for fifteen years now. If someone with these powers existed, they'd be a big help to things. Right Lacie?" Bertrum asked.

"I don't know what I believe, but he's right about that. It would be a big help for sure. Too bad we can't just hire someone like that," Lacie spoke.

"I'm telling you! It's real!!!" Wally leaned on the table, making Johnny's coffee cup tip. They all watched as the coffee went back in and the cup stood up.

"It's real alright. Wally and company, I'd like you to meet Henry Lamont, his friend Kathryn Miller, and the toons, Bendy, Boris, and Alice." Grant said.

"Hi!" Bendy called, waving at the confused and surprised employees.

"Also, for the job offer? I'll take it. It'll be nice working with you two." Kathryn smiled, not even seeming to notice their faces. "See you on Monday, Bertrum and Lacie."

The employees were still dumbfounded as they heard her shoes on the floor as she left.

"Don't mind Kathryn," Henry said. "She's probably going off to explore the place. Anyway, I probably should explain. Sit down, everyone. It's a long story."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out some great fanart Dxrksong made of Kathryn here: https://dxrksong.tumblr.com/post/176791813343/kathryn-circus-craze-this-is-your-fault


	34. Lights and Cameras

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After bringing the toons to life, Joey wanted to make a movie. The topic of the movie was based off of a nightmare Henry had. One where the toons were not what they seemed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a prompt that was sent in by MsFaust. This was the prompt: "And cut!"  
> "Wow, you guys are pretty good actors." Bendy, now in normal form, approached the [animator/projectionist/angel] lying on the floor and held out a hand. "You OK, [Henry/Norman/Alice]?"  
> "I'm fine," [he/she] answered, accepting the offered hand.  
> (...)  
> "We need to set up for the next scene," said Joey. "Go hit the snack table."  
> "Let's hope Boris hasn't eaten all the sandwiches."
> 
> Thank you so much for sending this in, and I hope you enjoy.

It was another day of acting. Bendy figured he should have been used to it now. That's what the cartoon was. It was all acting. This was different, though. It was harder in the real world. Still, Bendy knew it would be rewarding, so he stayed. He stayed and went into his other form. His demon form. He believed it enough to play the bad guy. 

Joey Drew Studios had made many cartoons, but this project was different. They were making a movie. It wasn't what you would expect. Bendy knows he didn't expect it. He didn't think Joey did, either.  
Joey had been wanting to make a movie now that the toons were alive, but he had trouble coming up with an idea for it. That changed one day. 

Henry had a dream. It was small, but he remembers being in the studio, finding it different and all old. Almost like it was abandoned, the animator had said. He wandered around, turning on the ink machine. Then, Bendy came out of it, only he was in his demon form and chasing him. Henry fell and then woke up.

Joey loved the idea. He imagined where the toons were evil and hunting down the animator that left thirty years ago. He built a storyline. It was a big, long, twisted one at that. There were a lot of characters, monsters, and everything, and it had everyone that currently worked here in it.

The first part was like Henry's dream, then things changed. Henry ran into Jack, a creature Joey named a searcher. Next, there was Sammy, a cultist who tried to sacrifice Henry to him. Boris showed up after. He was going to be bad, but Boris didn't play the part well. He was too big of a sweetheart, so he was an ally. Alice was wonderful at playing a crazed angel. Her voice when she spoke sent shivers down his spine. 

Now they were in chapter four of their movie, or so Joey called it. It was right when Bendy would be encountering and fighting against the Projectionist while Henry hid in the miracle station. Henry wasn't really in there. A camera was, but it was supposed to show the scene from Henry's view, so it worked.

Joey called for them to start. The Projectionist had its head tilted, about to reach and open the miracle station with Henry in it, only to turn as the demon approached.

The ink demon grinned widely as he stepped up to the Projectionist. His foe let out a screech as it charged, ready to attack. Bendy was prepared for this. He and the Projectionist scuffled, his smile never leaving his face, even when he got hit. The Projectionist wouldn't be able to beat him. Everyone knew it. He lifted up the Projectionist and ripped off its head. When he released it, the Projectionist fell to the ground. Bendy looked right at the camera for a few seconds before tossing the projector at the miracle station it was in. It hit the ground with a thud, ink spewing out of it.

"And cut!" Joey's voice rang out. Applause followed.

"Wow, you guys are are pretty good actors." Bendy, now in normal form, approached the projectionist lying on the floor and held out a hand. "You OK, Norman?"

"I'm fine," he answered, accepting the offered hand. Bendy helped him up. "You're a good actor yourself. The scene seemed almost real. Well, in a bizarre way."

Bendy nodded, then chuckled. "If it was real, I would have just shoved a pie in your character's face and fled while they were distracted."

"I bet it would work." The two laughed at the scenario.

"You know, we should have a bloopers segment. It would be funny!" 

"We'd have to ask Mr. Drew." Norman was right. The two glanced to the man, who had been reviewing the recording. He seemed happy with what he saw.

"He looks happy." Bendy said with a smile. Norman nods as the man looks up at them.

"We need to set up for the next scene," said Joey. "Go hit the snack table."

"Let's hope Boris hasn't eaten all the sandwiches." Henry spoke.

"I hope not. I made enough for everyone." Linda said.

"We can always make more if he did. I'll help you." Alice volunteered. Some others were quick to volunteer as well.

"Hey Joey, do you think we can add some bloopers after this is done? I wanna pie the Projectionist!" 

Joey thought for a moment. "I don't see why not. After this all is finished, we can."

They made their way to the snack pile. Only two sandwiches were missing, one of which Boris was currently eating. That wasn't all, though. Two pieces of the chocolate cake was missing. Susie was giving Sammy a stern look. The music director's face was covered in chocolate.

"He ate the chocolate cake." Susie told Joey and the others.

"I couldn't help it!" Sammy exclaimed. "She makes the best chocolate cake."

"Well, it wasn't for just you."

Sammy stared longingly at the cake while the others grabbed some snacks to eat. There was a lot of excited talking about the scene they had just completed. Bendy and Norman were congratulated by nearly everyone. 

"What scene are we doing next, Joey?" Bendy asked.

"Well, you're going to drag off the dummy we made to resemble the projectionist's body, and then Henry's going to fight Alice and meet Allison and Thomas." Joey answered.

"Then Lacie is the robot that comes after them, right?" Bertrum asked. "I can't wait for Bendimen to get screen time."

"Bertrum," Lacie starts.

"Yes. I'm certain we can squeeze in a robot fight somewhere." Bertrum grins while Lacie just facepalms and sighs. Bendy couldn't help but laugh, and some of the others joined in. He knew that this was going to be the best movie ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bendimen Is what Bertrum and Lacie named the Bendy robot/animatronic(?). As you can see, Bertrum is pretty fond of it.


	35. Room Buddies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bendy moves into Wally’s apartment. Cuteness ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And they were roommates!
> 
> Sorry, I couldn't exist. Anyway, hello, everyone! I wanted to let all of you know that I have a second collection of BatIM one shots. It's titled "From The Ink Stains."

The first thing Bendy saw were shoes. They were at the door, six pairs of them. One pair appeared old and worn out, another seemed new, and the next seemed really fuzzy. The one beside that had an open top with a strap going over it. The fifth was flat and shiny, and the sixth was tall, really tall. A boot. He blinked as he looked at them, holding his suitcase in his hand. The shoes were here. Were they supposed to go there? He looked down at his own shoes, picking up one of his feet. The shoe didn’t look like it would come off. He contemplated trying to take it off, but Wally spoke.

“Bendy? Everything okay?”

The little toon looked up at him, nodding slowly before looking back at the shoes. “Why…do you have so many shoes?”

“Well um, they’re for different things and seasons. That sort of thing. I’ll explain later, but we should probably get your suitcase put up.”

“Different things? You mean they don’t stay on your feet all the time?” All Bendy has seen Wally in were these slick, bright yellow boots.

“Nope, not for us. We can take them off. Like this.” Wally took off his boots. Bendy was surprised. He had thought maybe some shoes stayed on forever. He nodded, finally satisfied at the moment. He moved away from the shoes and let Wally lead him into the house.

“This is the living room. It’s pretty much the main room in the house besides the kitchen. People stay in here a lot. Especially if you have guests over. You can go ahead and put your suitcase on the couch.”

Bendy put his suitcase on the couch as Wally said, looking around the room. There was a rocking chair and couch, and Bendy saw what he figured was a TV. There was a shelf with books on it, and a radio. It looked different than the one he listened to music on, but he figured it worked.

“This is the kitchen. It’s not as big as most, but it works. There’s the table, stove, sink, oven, cabinets, and those sorts of things. Which you know already, but I’ve never given a tour before.”

Bendy looked at the tile on the floor. There were little squares. He could stay in them if he stayed on the tips of his…toes? He did have toes, right? He wasn’t sure, but he guessed it could be just an expression if he didn’t.

He made it out of the kitchen successfully without stepping out of the small squares. Wally was waiting for him and showed him the bathroom, and then the bedroom.

“Unfortunately there’s only one of these rooms. If I knew one day you’d be living with me, I would have gotten a two bedroom apartment, but times were tough then and well, I wasn’t expecting Joey to bring you to life honestly. Not that I’m not happy he did or anything like that though! That just means we’ll be roommates.”

“Roommates,” Bendy repeated, thinking of the word. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard of it before. He tilts his head slightly as he tries to remember. Perhaps it’s his puzzled face that prompts Wally to explain.

“That means we’ll be sharing a room. Room buddies, pals, anything really. Basically we’ll be dividing the room in half. You get that side, and I have this side.”

The sides looked identical. Bendy noticed his side had a different color of sheets and the dresser was a different color, too. Wally’s side appeared to have more stuff, but that was because he had been living here for longer. Bendy was certain he’d be able to fill a little of those empty shelves on his side with the stuff from his suitcase. Then it wouldn’t look so bare. He could do that and hang up some pictures like Wally had.

“I like it!” Bendy said cheerfully. He wondered why Wally seemed so pleased about that. Maybe he had put a lot of time putting this stuff in? There were quite a few stairs they had to climb up. He probably carried this stuff up all of them. It must have been hard, and maybe even scary. Bendy decided he’d have to give him a hug for that sometime.

“I’m really glad to hear that. When we get ahold of Henry, I’m sure you’ll probably get to live in a much nicer place than this. You’ll probably even have your own room, too.”

Bendy frowns before shaking his head. “I don’t wanna leave.” He didn’t know much about this Henry that everyone had been referring to. He did bring along some drawings and a tape that belonged to him. Everyone said he was a good person, and Bendy was originally created by him on paper. From the tape, he did seem like a good person. A good person wouldn’t make him leave if he didn’t want to.

“You don’t have to leave now. It’s gonna be about a month or so before he gets back from the annual vacation he, Linda, and their daughter take. Until then you’re stuck with me, or one of the others.”

Bendy smiled. “I wanna be stuck with you. We’re gonna be roommates! It’ll be like…a sleepover! I bet Boris and Alice aren’t going to have as much fun!”

“Well, Alice does have Susie and Allison that live with her, and Jack is pretty nice and fun.”

“I guess the Butcher Gang has sleepovers too, but they always argue and Barley snores. Really loudly, too.”

Wally laughed. “Heh, at least I don’t do that!” He looked at Bendy with a serious expression. “Do you?”

“No, but I’m good at pretending to!” The two burst out laughing.

“Well, I think we’ll get along fine together, Bendy.”

“Me too! This is going to be great!” Bendy grinned. “Now…about those shoes.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll explain the shoes. Then, we can unpack your stuff and make some dinner. How do you feel about spagetthi?”

“Who’s that?” Wally was about to open his mouth, but Bendy laughed. “I’m kidding! It sounds great! Let’s go.”

“Alright! You just wait though, Bendy. By the time Henry gets back, you’ll be a five star chef!”

“Then what?” Bendy asked, not quite grasping what the five star part meant, or what cooking was exactly. It seemed he said something funny, because Wally laughed.

“Hmm… I guess I’ll teach ya how to use the washer and dryer downstairs.”

“Alright, but I wanna teach you some stuff too. Hmmm… I’m going to teach you how to…make pillow and blanket forts.”

“That could be useful.”

“Yeah! They’re useful and fun. Also, we might need to learn the fastest way to bake pies. You know, in case you need to shove one in someone’s face.”

Wally was laughing hard. “T-then what?”

“Well, I could teach you an elaborate prank involving glue, a bucket, feathers, and a fan, but that sounds like trouble.”

“Only if you get caught.”

Bendy looked shocked, and then grinned michiviously. “That’s true…” He and Wally burst out laughing. Bendy ended up falling over on his butt and the two only laughed harder at that.

“There was this one time I got Joey real good with that one! Then there was the time I tried to scare him with loud music and accidentally broke that one Sammy guy’s radio. Oh, wait! Don’t tell him I did that!”

Wally shook his head and chuckled. Living with a toon was definitely going to be an experience he wouldn’t forget. He wasn’t worried though. He was certain they’d get along just fine.


End file.
